To Be Okay
by In2lalaland
Summary: Wufei has forgotten what it's like to have friends, after years of isolation and bullying. At home he pretends that everything is fine while he does what he can to survive at school. Can the arrival of one boy really change anything? 2x5x2 AU
1. Chapter 1

To Be Okay

I don't normally do the "strong knight and fair lady" scenery but Philomina offered me art and I'm a whore for it so this is what I came up with.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

To be okay

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Wufei jumped as someone was suddenly slammed into the locker next to his, making him stumble back to avoid the swinging arms.

A tall brunette wearing a black studded leather jacket was holding one of the school's known bullies to the locker with an arm over his throat.

"What was that about the hair?" The boy demanded loudly, his sharp words ringing throughout the suddenly quiet corridor. The hair in question was a long, thick braid that reached halfway down the boy's back and Wufei just knew that this was the last time anyone ever made a crack at it.

The trapped boy wheezed helplessly for a moment before he managed to get one word out. "N-nothing."

The leather wearing boy grinned curtly, before taking a step back, letting the bully breathe. "Anyone else?" He asked loudly, the mad looking grin still plastered over his face.

Wufei found himself shaking his head along with several others. The boy seemed satisfied with that and with one last glare at his gasping victim, he turned away.

Wufei held his breath as the boy brushed past him and disappeared down the corridor. As soon as he was out of sight, a wave of gossip flooded the students.

Wufei's eyes wandered over to Tyler, the guy who regularly made his life hell. He couldn't say that he felt sorry for him, far from it in fact. The large boy was rubbing his throat with a pained look on his face until it turned into an angry mask as he caught him watching.

"What the fuck are you looking at?" Tyler's words were closely followed by a sharp shove to Wufei's back that slammed the smaller boy into the open locker door.

When the worst of the pain had subsided, Wufei cursed his luck, reaching down to pick up his fallen glasses.

Just what he needed, more violent bullies. As if school wasn't bad enough already.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Later that day, Wufei stopped to admire a picture of a blue exotic bird in the book he was lazily flipping through. He had stayed behind in the classroom after the last class with the excuse that he wanted to finish his homework. Having a lot of siblings was a great excuse to stay behind in a calm and quiet environment and none of the teachers ever questioned him. He didn't do it every day, just on the days when he had a feeling that _'they'_ were out to get him more than usual and on Fridays. Leaving on a Friday was always a bit of a health hazard since bullies got a bit too much taste of freedom and felt the need to take out their renewed energy on someone fitting. Most likely Wufei.

That he knew that Tyler had been walking around like a storm cloud all day since the new boy had humiliated him could only mean that someone was going to suffer for it. Most likely Wufei.

This was why he had claimed one of the desks in the back as he waited for people to leave for the weekend.

He had long ago finished his homework and had been flipping through some encyclopedias to pass the time. There was not much else to do in a classroom. He glanced up at the clock on the wall and decided that it was probably safe to leave now. The thought of staying behind for an hour on a Friday had probably never even crossed his tormentor's minds.

Wufei put the books back in the bookshelf and straightened up a few chairs before he put his arms though the straps of his backpack and secured it on his back. With one last look around the room, he left it and started walking through the empty school. The sound of his sneakers echoing softly through the corridors was calming and reassuring. Wufei never enjoyed school as much as he did on these occasions.

Then suddenly the sound of a door opening and slamming closed broke his blissful silence and as he came around the corner he saw just who was responsible. The new boy in his easily spotted leather jacket was pacing along the corridor, radiating pent up anger.

"Fuck!" The boy kicked one of the trash cans that were attached to the wall, giving the metal a large dent.

Wufei was about to turn back and return to hiding in the classroom, hoping to go as unnoticed as possible when a whispered 'fuck' made him pause. The word was filled with so much hopelessness, so much sadness that he could not let it pass. He knew that it was stupid and that he was probably going to get his ass kicked for his trouble but before he knew what he was doing, his mouth had opened.

"Are you okay?"

The boy whirled around, eyes burning. "Does it fucking look like I'm okay?"

Wufei flinched back, turning eyes down to the floor with a tight grip around the straps of his backpack. "No, sorry." He mumbled as he quickly turned and started to hurry away. There was still a small chance that he could get away without being beaten up.

"Hey." The boy called out after him, making Wufei quicken his steps. "Hey! Wait up." The sound of running feet was heard, making Wufei freeze. There was no way that he would be unable to outrun the other boy and bullies always hit harder after chasing you.

A shadow fell over his face as the other caught up to him and Wufei tried to mentally prepare himself for the pain.

"I'm sorry alright, I got some shitty news. Didn't mean to snap at ya."

Wufei looked up meeting the new boy's eyes for the first time. They were blue, a soft blue like the sky. They were also very sad, lonely eyes.

Wufei nodded and the boy smiled slightly. A smile that never reached his eyes.

"I'm Duo." He said, pushing his hands into the pockets of his jacket, pulling it forwards so that the silver spikes on the collar brushed his neck.

"Wufei." Wufei just about whispered in responds as he turned his eyes downwards again.

"You're in my class right?"

Wufei nodded, pushing his glasses back up as they started to slide down.

"Just ignore me if I go off, okay? I've got a nasty temper."

Wufei nodded again, still looking at his shoes.

"Right… well thanks for asking." With that, Duo turned and walked away.

Wufei glanced after him as the other boy passed the damaged trashcan. The long haired boy's head was bowed in despair and Wufei couldn't help but wonder what kind of bad news the seemingly so self-confident boy had received.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Wufei was as usual the first into the classroom and as usual he choose the desk in the front where he at least would be a bit protected from peoples boredom.

He had a few minutes of peace before his classmates started to pour into the room. Most ignored him, but unfortunately there were exceptions.

Wufei didn't move a muscle as someone emptied a pencil-sharpener over his head with a mocking laughter.

He waited a moment until the guy and his friends had passed before he calmly did his best to brush the litter out of his hair and off his clothes. It was nothing new and there would be worse things.

A second later someone shoved him roughly as they passed but he pretended not to care. That someone, Nick by the look of the arm that suddenly reached out, pushed his book to the floor with a sharp sound.

Wufei knew that something bad would happen if he tried to pick it up so he waited. More people poured in and a group of girls gave him a dismissive look as they breezed past them, leaving a cloud of cheap perfume behind. Wufei pretended not to care. He breathed in a sigh in relief when the teacher showed up. He was relatively safe now.

He picked his book up and brushed off the dirty sneaker mark on the front. In the back of the room, someone was laughing with one of his many hated nick names thrown in.

Wufei wondered if he was ever going to get used to this.

Then in the last second before the teacher closed the door, Duo strolled into the room, carrying his books in a loose disinterest grip. He didn't spare his classmates a look as he dropped down at an empty desk not far from Wufei.

The teacher started talking, handing out a stack of paper. The sighs and rude noises around the room said it all.

Wufei happily accepted his copy. This was his sanctuary, _this_ was something he was good at. Questions that only had one answer, only one solution. Numbers made sense, numbers didn't betray you, didn't trick or hurt you. They were just numbers.

But the numbers didn't capture his full attention like they usually did.

Instead, Wufei watched the new boy as he leaned down over the paper, biting into the pen relentlessly as if he could force it to write down the right answer for him. When it didn't, he slammed the pen down on the desk, leaning back in his chair with his long legs out and crossed.

Wufei watched the lean shape in the corner of his eye. It was hard to connect the sad, lonely eyes he had seen yesterday with the cocky troublemaker he saw now. Duo did not look like a nice guy, he looked like the type of guy that would rather punch you in the face than shake your hand.

Wufei looked back down at his numbers, but his thoughts were still with the boy. It didn't appear like Duo was making any friends, only several enemies if the rumors that Wufei had overheard were accurate. Tyler wasn't the only one who had tried to get one over the new kid, but he was the only one who had gotten away with just a sore throat.

Wufei had seen Mason from the other class with a black eye and Tommy who had been kind enough to empty the sharpener over him had one wrist bandaged.

It appeared like the bully code didn't just apply for the victims, but also for the bullies. Because no one had tattled and the new boy had gone unpunished. For how long that would last was still a mystery.

In the corner of his eye he saw the new boy uncross his legs, choosing instead to spread them as wide as the tight jeans would let him, one leg bouncing restlessly. The move gave Wufei a great opportunity to drop his eraser so that he could bend down and inspect the nice package on display. It was the little things in life that made it bearable.

It was obvious that Duo had reached the end of his concentration and was now looking for another way of entertainment.

Five minutes later he was thrown out for disturbing the class.

Wufei watched the boy leave, still throwing insults over his shoulder until the door closed behind him. Like a beaten soldier, fighting all the way to the bitter end with his very own type of dignity.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

A/N – So that was the first chapter, please let me know what you thought about it :)


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Wufei readied himself' to leave the school unnoticed, something that took skills and a lot of experience. He had both.

On the day that he didn't stay behind, Wufei always made sure that he had no need to go back to his locker after the last class. This included during the winter with its need of winter clothes.

But over the years, Wufei had found several things that helped him escape his bullies.

For example, there were a couple of large displays in the basement. They contained mostly stuffed birds in different positions that long ago had been banned since they had worn out their welcome in the classrooms. But it was not the birds Wufei was interested in.

There was an empty space between the side of the display and the wall, not very big but wide enough to push in his jacket and backpack. Next to it, a large eagle stood proudly on top of a bad replica of a rock with its great wings open like it were just about to take flight, only to be cruelly frozen in time with no way of escape.

Now the eagle only served to shield the presence of Wufei's possessions. He only wished that they had left just a little more room so he as well could be pushed in between the display and the wall, hidden behind the wings of the eagle. But unfortunately it was not to be.

There weren't a lot of good places to hide in at school. The bathroom was always an option but if they found him in there things got ugly very quickly. The presence of toilets and bullies could only lead to unpleasantness.

There's a janitor's closet on the second floor that was rarely locked and Wufei hid there whenever he dared to. The thing about hiding places was that they were only good when no one knew about them.

Wufei's favorite safe spot was in fact not much of a hiding place, it was as close to a sanctuary as he could come.

The handy craft teacher was a man from what you would call the old way of teaching. He didn't go so far as to beat the trouble makers but he always gave you the feeling that this time might just be the exception. He didn't tolerate any rough housing and always kept his eyes open to what the students were doing. Nothing got passed him and Wufei could feel safe during those lessons.

Wufei had never been very good at crafting but Mr Fagerhult had been satisfied as long as he tried and didn't make too much of a mess.

If Wufei ever told anyone about the bullying, he would be the one he would tell. The old man would believe him and try to help. That was in fact the biggest reason why Wufei had not told him and never would. Mr, Fagerhult would try to help and when he failed, hell would break loose and Wufei would be the one who suffered endlessly.

There was nothing bullies hated more than to be told that they were doing something wrong. Especially by a teacher they respected.

Wufei collected his bag from behind the eagle before continuing down into the seemingly endless corridors under the school. It was rumored that the building was once meant to be used as a mental institute but had been turned into a school instead. Wufei didn't know if it was true or not but he had to agree that the layout sure fitted the theory. Especially the basement. The old, dim corridors with its metal doors, all with a round window in them had once scared him endlessly, now they just meant safety. Students were not allowed down here but Wufei rather faced angry janitors than bullies so he continued on until he reached the concrete stairs that lead up to the back door. From there he walked around the corner past two cafeteria personnel who stood leaning against the wall, each of them with a lit cigarette hanging from their fingers. Wufei wrinkled his nose at the unpleasant smell but nodded politely at them. From there on he took a long walk around the cafeteria building and the gym, ending up on the road that would lead him home. Wufei happily followed it, glad that he for once, was safe.

His day had been pretty good. Or more exactly, it hadn't been as much of a trip to hell like it usually was. He had been shoved face first into his locker once and then there were the usual insults but besides that, he had been left alone. The rumor about a big fight during lunch had occupied most people's attention and Wufei had even managed to eat in peace. .

Feeling light at heart, Wufei stepped off the road and took his usual short cut through the woods. His house was just on the other side and Wufei enjoyed the silence the forest offered before he got home to the chaos. Four younger siblings were a constant source of noise and this kind of calm was something he didn't get to experience often enough.

But the forest wasn't as empty as it usually was. There was someone there, further in under a tree. He faltered, looking closer. Wufei almost didn't recognize the bent over shape without the leather jacket.

Duo was gripping his own hair in what looked like a harsh punishment. His whole posture radiated despair.

Wufei knew that he should walk away but the memory of those sad, lonely eyes haunted him.

He slowly walked over, stopping at the edge of the meadow. Over the boy's shoulder he could see the familiar math book that he himself had worked in earlier that day.

He nervously licked his lips. "Do you need help?"

"No!" Duo roared, turning around, only to pause when he caught a sight of him. "Ah, sorry. No, I'm fine." He shook his head before turning back to his book.

Wufei hovered for a moment, unsure if he should leave or not. But a quick look at the open notebook made him stay. Duo had not answered a single question.

"I'm pretty good at math… if you…" He trailed off as the blue eyes once again turned towards him.

Duo wiggled the pen in his hand restlessly. "If you want." He said simply, looking back down.

Wufei took off his backpack and sat down as far away as he could and still see what was written in the book. Which wasn't very far. Damn his bad eyesight! He wished he had worn his real glasses for once instead of his old ones. Unfortunately, wearing his new glasses would undoubtedly encourage people to break them and there were only so many times he could lie to his mother about how they broke before she would get suspicious. It was just too bad that the prescription on the old glasses didn't fit him anymore, making it really hard to read things at a distance. Another reason to always sit in the front of the classroom.

"So…" He said, unsure of how he was going to manage this without pissing Duo off. "How far have you gotten?"

Duo snorted mockingly. "Nowhere, absolutely nowhere. I don't understand jack." He threw the pen down at the math book as if to punish it. "It's not like I'm ever going to have any use for this anyway."

Wufei flinched at the violent gesture, looking down at the book. It seemed like Duo hadn't even gotten past the first chapter containing the things they should have learned the year before.

This was going to be a challenge.

Settling in, Wufei set out to explain the wonders of mathematics.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Duo wasn't totally hopeless, he just couldn't remember the rules and in what way you should solve the different problems. Wufei patiently explained them, over and over again with diagrams, examples and stick figures.

Wufei couldn't remember the last time he had so much fun.

They had stayed under the tree for almost two hours before Wufei's mom made herself known by calling his phone to tell him that dinner was ready.

Embarrassed that he was being called upon like a child, Wufei packed up his things.

"Maybe we could meet again… if you want." Wufei suggested carefully.

Duo released a deep breath. "Yeah, sure. That would be great. Who knows, maybe they will even change their decision to hold me back a grade." He said with one of those smiles that didn't reach his eyes. "You're much better at explaining this shit than the teachers."

Wufei blushed at the compliment, mumbling a quiet 'thanks' and a 'see you later' before slowly turning to walk away. His legs felt stiff and heavy from sitting down for so long and he did everything in his power to not let it show. He did not want to stumble in front of Duo.

Well back on the path he glanced back. Duo was still bent over his book, but this time the pen moved effortlessly over the page.

Wufei smiled proudly as he set his steps towards home.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

"I was wondering when you were going to show up. Where have you been?" His mother asked as he dropped his backpack down in the hallway. He shrugged off his light jacket and hung it up on the hook that had been his since the age of five.

"Just helping a friend with his homework." he mumbled dismissively as he walked into the kitchen. His siblings were already gathered around the table, talking, arguing and shoving. Wufei sometimes felt like he had been adopted since there really were not many similarities between them when it came to personality. He was quiet and withdrawn where his siblings were loud and self-confident. He was sad most of the time while they were always happy, he was alone and they had more friends than he had thought possible. Maybe it was the age that did the difference and they would end up more like him when they grow up.

He really hoped not.

A proud smile spread over her face. "That's nice of you sweetheart." She said as she put a steaming pot down on the table.

Wufei as usual took a seat between his two sisters. The two twins had been forbidden to sit next to each other since they always ended up throwing food at one another. Not that Wufei's presence always stopped them.

He put his elbow down on the table, resting his chin in his hand. He felt strangely detached from the normal situation around him. Everything was the same but he felt like it shouldn't be. How could the world go on just like before when he had had such an amazing afternoon? It didn't feel right.

Absently he reached out to help Jing-Wei cut her food, ignoring her protests that she could do it herself. He didn't trust her not to make a mess. When he was done he turned to his own food and tuned out the children's enthusiastic chatter as he pushed it around on his plate, his thoughts still with the boy in the forest. He wanted to tell someone about it, he wanted to talk about how happy he had been sitting there on the damp ground. How his stomach had been tingling when Duo had moved over so that he could sit next to him on the spread out leather jacket. He wanted to tell someone about how nice it had been to brush against Duo, how thrilling it had been to have the handsome boy turn to him to hear what he had to say.

Wufei sometimes wished that he had siblings his own age. Someone he could talk and relate to. A friend.

Unfortunately, Jian was closest to him in age and he had just turned eight. Not really someone he would turn to if he wanted to talk.

"How was school today Wufei?" His mother asked like she did everyday.

Hell, as usual. Wufei shrugged. "Okay."

"How's Tomas?" She asked with interested eyes.

Wufei held back a flinch. He didn't have the heart to tell his mother that 'Tomas' hadn't been his friend for five years since abandoning him to become friends with the gang of popular kids. Tommy was in fact one of the ringleaders that made it their purpose in life to destroy Wufei's.

"He's fine." He mumbled, leaning his chin on his hand again as he stared down at his fork as he was steering his food around.

"I haven't seen him around for so long, you should have your friends over more often."

"Yeah maybe." He answered airily. He didn't have any friends, hadn't had any in years. But people only saw what they wanted to see and his mother was no different. He couldn't really blame her. He worked hard to hide it and she had enough on her plate. She had been pretty devastated when his father had left her for another woman. Wufei couldn't fault his father for leaving ether since he couldn't remember a time when his parents hadn't been fighting.

But what Wufei wasn't prepared to forgive was how fast his father had built a new life. Two months after the divorce he had remarried a woman, ten years younger that he quickly got pregnant and moved in with. Wufei's new stepmother didn't just have a new born baby, she had two kids on her own since before. His father had stepped right into that family like he had always been there, leaving his mother a hopeless mess.

Wufei hated spending time at his father's house more than anything. Not that he had that much against his father the few times that the man actually was home, it had more to do with his father's wife's son.

His father had happily introduced his children to his new family, clearly thinking that everything was going to be sunshine and puppies from there on. Especially since Wufei was the same age as his stepmother's oldest son. Because that would clearly make them best friends. Or even like brothers.

Wufei had been fighting hard not to break down crying in horror when he got to meet his new 'brother' for the first time.

Tyler Evens. Of all the people in the world, his father had to fall for the mother of one of Wufei's worst bullies.

They had played nice in front of their parents and then when they were alone, Tyler had threatened to break his fingers if anyone ever found out about their families. Wufei didn't doubt that he would do it.

The way his father treats Tyler more like a son then he did Wufei was just another knife in Wufei's already bleeding heart.

Wufei finished his food and walked up the stairs to the room he shared with his brothers.

His emotions were burning a hole in his heart. He needed an outlet. But he was too paranoid to keep a journal with so many curious siblings running around with their friends and the only computer in the house was standing in the living room and he wasn't about to write anything personal on it. He couldn't even imagine talking to his mother about it, he had no friends, no relatives to speak to, not even a damn pet who would listen.

He was surrounded by people but he had no one to talk to.

Wufei curled up in the corner of his bed, with a book on his lap that he had no plans on reading. But if it didn't look like he was busy then his siblings would take it as an invitation. He loved his siblings but he really just wanted to be alone to sort out everything that had happened.

It was tiring to always have to be on his guard and to never feel like he could relax. Not only did he share his bedroom with his brothers, he slept on the fold out couch in the living room at his father's house. He had nowhere that was really his.

"I talked to Duo today. I sat next to him and helped him with math." He whispered to himself. "He was really nice and I-" He cut himself off as the door opened and Jian came running in with two of his friends.

Wufei sighed and pretended to read his book.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

A/N

I know, the chapters are pretty short but they will hopefully get longer soon. Take a second to tell me what you thought? :)

_**sasunarurules **_- Thank you :) What is up with Duo will be explained further along the story. But belive me, he has a reason for acting the way he does. _**Shadowdragon58 **_- Awww, that was nice to hear. I'm glad that I can brighten your day a little bit :)_**snowdragonct**_- Yeah, Duo has a habit of ending up being the victim, but here he will have all the room he needs to live out all his bad boy tendencies :D _**Bethany Shiver**_ - Thank you, :) I'm going to try to not turn it into just another hight school story. Try being the key word _**Yesterdays-lover**_ - You are so right. Wufei the gundam pilot would never stand for being bullied, Wufei the fifteen year old victim would. But don't worry, Wufei will grow a back bone sooner or later._**roses in bloom**_ - Some more vulnerable!Wufei for you :) I hope you enjoyed it._**anf600**_ - That would most likely be the nail in the coffin so to say. No, for now Wufei's secret is safe. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. _**O.O**_ - Oh, I will, don't worry._**tsukigomori mikomi**_ - Thank you :) I'll try to keep the quality as good as I can get it ;) **BladeMaxwell-GoddessofDeath** - Glad to hear you liked they boys, we will be seeing more of their roles in the future. Lots of Duo the bad boy and Wufei the victim for you :)salllzy - I'm going to try to update it every Friday from here on. We'll see how it goes._**P. Cythera**_ - Yay! Happy you liked it, more is to come :) pet your cat from me would you? _**mifibou **_- No you are totally right, I never really said where they were. I did that on purpuse but on the other hand I should have said how old they were. Sorry, my mistake. They are about fifteen (the reason I tried to avoid words like "high school" and such is that I try to make sure that the story can take place anywhere on the planet, not just the USA which so many fictions have a habit of doing. You know just what I mean, right?) _**Kaeru Shisho**_ -It's a challenge alright. I'm going to try to keep them in character as much as I can considering the situation I put them in. But I think that they are going to be able to let their true self show for each other. _**force majeur**_ - Glad to hear I have your trust ;) And you changed your name... again o.O _**kidishcaresh**_ - No hugs for the sick people! But I hope you feel better by now. And if you do I'm blaming you for my running nose.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Wufei took a second to make sure that all his books stood straight, sorted by subject and then by size. His locker was always in perfect order. It was nice to be able to have total control over something in his life and this metal box was more or less all he had. '

Aaron who had the adjacent locker didn't acknowledge him as he started loading books in, not that Wufei was surprised. The other boy hadn't spared him a glance, never mind talked to him in the two years that they had had lockers next to each other.

Now Aaron wasn't the most popular guy around but he had enough survivor instincts not to approach him. Wufei tried not to feel resentful.

There were always outcasts. The dorky ones, the too smart ones, the ones who didn't care about their appearance, the overweight ones, the strange ones, the shy ones and the just plain ugly ones. Wufei wasn't sure just what category he fitted into but he had a feeling that he was somewhere far below them all. He seemed to be in a whole new bottom level that were so low that it made sure that not even the most un-popular students would ever even think about being seen with him since it obviously would mean social suicide. Not to mention painful if Wufei's own personal group of bullies decided to divide their attention.

He didn't think they knew he was gay. They called him a faggot, sure, but it was more in the way of intending for it to be an insult than to call him on it. Thank god for small favors.

He took his psychology book and a note book out. His classes didn't' start for another ten minutes but he would be safer inside that classroom than he would be here in the middle of the corridor. If he was lucky, the teacher would be early and he could take shelter in the classroom.

His luck just ran out.

In the corner of his eye he saw Tommy coming towards him. Wufei knew what was going to happen and he even saw the other boy lifting his fist but did nothing to stop it. That would only make things worse.

The other boy's fist hit his side, making him gasp, clinging to the locker door to hold himself up, his eyelids tightly shut as he fought to keep the tears back. Pain rolled over him, proving that it didn't matter how many times this happened, you never got used to it. In resignation he waited for another hit, fingers tips turning white from his grip around the metal.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" An angry voice shouted behind them as Duo's fist meet Tommy's face with a sickening smash.

The leather clad boy didn't give Wufei's attacker a single chance to defend himself as he leveled him to the ground, delivering punch after punch until Tommy stopped trying to fight back, choosing instead to curl up to protect himself.

Wufei watched it all with wide eyes.

"You okay?" Duo asked as he stumbled back onto his feet, panting slightly as he walked over to him.

Wufei simply nodded in shock, not quite sure what had just happened.

Duo gave the crumbled body a glare over his shoulder. "Let me know if anyone gives you any problems, okay? I'll take care of it."

Wufei lowered his eyes from the intense look he was given. "Okay." He whispered.

Duo nodded tightly, backed up a few steps to kick Tommy in the stomach before walking away.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Later that day, Wufei's eyes followed Duo as he strolled into the classroom with something close to hero worship. He still could not believe that Duo had not only helped him but actually beaten someone up for him. The thought was beyond words.

The math teacher walked in and Wufei forced his eyes away from Duo and down into his book.

Silence soon settled over the room.

Wufei easily finished his equation before letting his attention stray. He was so far ahead of the others that it wouldn't matter if he so decided to skip every single lesson for a month. In the corner of his eye he saw Duo's leg start to bounce uncontrollably and he just knew that it wouldn't be long before the boy started doing something stupid that would get him thrown out.

Ten minutes later the door closed behind the braided boy.

Wufei waited a moment before he excused himself to go to the bathroom.

Duo stood leaning against the wall further down the corridor and Wufei hesitated momentarily before walking over to him.

What's wrong?" He asked softly, wanting to reach out to touch him but choosing instead to cross his arms over his chest.

Duo glanced over at him as his played with the zipper on his jacket. "They wanted me to draw a parallelogram and I couldn't remember how they looked." He confessed quietly.

If it wasn't so sad, Wufei would have laughed - especially since they had spent an hour yesterday working on it. "Listen to the word, parallelo-gram, how should it look?"

Duo kicked the back of his boot into the wall in frustration, giving him an annoyed look. "I'm not smart like you, I don't know."

"Yes you do." Wufei insisted. "Para-llelo-gram."

Duo sighed, dragging a hand through his bangs. "Was it the boxes?"

Wufei smiled proudly. "Yes, exactly. What made them so special?"

"Um, the top and the bottom were just as long and so were the short sides?"

"Yes, and how did you figure out the area?" He asked carefully. He knew that Duo knew this, he had been sitting next to him when he had solved several geometrical problems without any problems what so ever.

Then, lo and behold, Duo opened his mouth and all the answers came tumbling out. Wufei asked question after question and Duo, after claiming over and over again that he didn't know and that he wasn't smart enough to figure it out, had soon answered every one of them.

"Are you ready to go back inside? I'm sure the teacher won't give you any problems."

Duo grimaced. "I don't know, I kind of have an image to uphold. It would look kind of stupid if I came back, tail between my legs, you know."

Wufei tilted his head, giving Duo's torn jeans, his studded leather jacket and his long hair a look. "Isn't not giving a fuck more your thing anyway? Why care what they think?"

Duo chuckled lightly and the sound warmed Wufei from the inside. He had said something that made Duo laugh! He couldn't remember ever being so proud of himself.

A shrug. "I guess, fine. You go in and I'll follow you in a couple of minutes."

Wufei nodded with a smile and returned into the classroom.

He sat down, ignoring the paper ball that hit him in the back of the head as he did so. Nothing was going to bring him down from this high. A few minutes later, Duo strolled back into the room and sat down again. As Wufei had thought, the teacher just looked up from where he was helping another student and didn't say anything as Duo opened his book and stayed quiet.

Wufei held back a proud smile as he watched Duo's pen fly over the page.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

"Thanks for that." Duo said, walking up behind him as they were exiting the classroom.

Wufei jumped slightly, not prepared to have Duo talk to him where others could see. "No problem." He mumbled shyly. He was very aware that people were watching them and that they were listening to every word they said.

"You wouldn't believe the kind of block my brain puts on itself when I tried to figure it out on my own." Duo smiled one of those smiles that didn't reach his eyes. "Thank god it's lunchtime. I'm fucking starving, let me just put these away and I'll meet up with ya." He thumped his books against his hip before he started walking in the opposite direction.

Wufei's heart had somehow defined all laws of gravity and crawled up in his throat, making it impossible to get a word out. Instead he used all his energy to make his unsteady feet take him where he needed them to go.

Duo was going to eat lunch with him! Like they were friends, like Duo wanted to hang out with him for another reason than because he was helping him!

Wufei almost could not believe it and he walked blindly towards his locker, head firmly stuck in the clouds. He imagined what he was going to say, how Duo would respond and how those sad eyes would smile just for him. He grinned stupidly and didn't step out of the way when Tyler and Nick came towards him.

Bad idea.

"Look where you are going loser." Was all Wufei had time to hear before he was shoved face first into the row of lockers. His head was ringing and he had no way to escape the kick to the back of his knees. He fell to the floor and another kick hit him in the side. For some reason all he could think about was that he hoped that his glasses wouldn't break, he didn't want to meet up with Duo with broken glasses. Please just don't let them break.

"Get off him you fuckers!"

Duo's pissed off yell was like a voice from above and despite the pain he slowly sat up, leaning back against a metal locker. Something was getting in his eye and Wufei lifted his hand and felt blood under his fingers.

He glimpsed Duo's eyes around Tyler's bulky shape and saw the rage.

Seconds later Tyler was in a lot of pain as Duo rammed a knee into his stomach. Nick tried to help his friend but the blond was soon whimpering on the ground after receiving a hit to the balls. People were gathering to trying to get a look on what was going on, almost totally blocking Wufei's view.

Duo didn't stop hitting until a teacher showed up, shouting angrily for them to stop fighting. Not that it was much of a fight with Tyler and Nick being beaten up ruthlessly on the dirty floor.

As Wufei watched, the teacher led the unresisting Duo away towards the principal's office. The braided boy gave him a sad smile over his shoulder before he disappeared around the corner.

"Are you alright Wufei?" His English teacher asked kindly as he hunched down next to him.

'Now you worry' Wufei thought bitterly. 'Where were you before?'

The man gave him a concerned look, putting a hand on his shoulder. "What did Maxwell do?"

Wufei stared stupidly for a moment before he managed to connect all the dots to figure out that the new name was Duo's. With a sigh he shook his head. It just figures, when someone finally saw something they misinterpreted it.

Wufei then did something that he had never done before, he told a teacher the truth. "Duo didn't do it, Nick and Tyler did." It felt good to finally say the _truth_, he had never had the guts to do so before. Not when it only led to even more pain in the end. But this time was different, this time someone had stepped in to help him and staying quiet would hurt Duo more than it would hurt him to tattle.

The man frown, scratching the large bold spot on his head in thought. "So… Maxwell tried to help?"

Wufei nodded shortly. "Yeah, he's... a friend."

The man made a noise of understanding before reaching out to help him up. "Let's get you to the nurse and I'll have a word with the principal."

"Thank you." Wufei whispered as he followed, head hanging low to avoid making eye contact with the people surrounding them.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Wufei got himself patched up and turned down the offer to call someone to come get him. Even if it was tempting, a petty part of him wanted to call his father so that the man would get to hear all about how his new "son" had beaten him up. But he had more important things to worry about.

Instead of going back to class like he had said he would, Wufei went in the other direction and took a seat in the waiting room outside the principal's office, making sure that he was sitting behind a big plastic bush so no one could see him.

The first to leave the office was his English teacher and Wufei was happy to see that the man really had gone to get all the facts straight. Next came Nick and Tyler, they were both looking very grim and angry, hopefully because of the punishment they had gotten. One could always hope anyway and he tried not to think about what they would do to him when he saw them again. He sat very still as they passed the plastic plant, holding his breath until the door closed behind them.

He just hoped that Duo would be okay. The other boy had gotten himself quite the reputation since he had gotten there and what was to say that this wasn't what pushed Duo over the edge?

Wufei didn't know how long he had been sitting there but the class that he should have gone to must have ended long ago when the door finally opened and Duo stepped out. He looked tired and the right side of his face was swollen and bruised.

"Hey." Wufei said softly, getting up from his hiding place.

"Hey, you alright?" Duo asked walking over and leaned down to inspect the cut on his forehead.

"I'm fine." He said self-consciously, taking a step back as he ducked his head.

"I'm starting to think that you need a fucking body guard." Duo shrugged on his leather jacket and pulled his long braid free. "They might try to take this out on you, so just stick close to me, okay?"

Wufei nodded, a warm feeling growing in his chest. And who could blame him? Who wouldn't want their very own knight in shining armor? Or leather jacket as it were.

"Are you in trouble?" He asked softly, glancing over at the principals closed door.

Duo shrugged. "Not more than usual. There will be a bunch of meetings where people who don't know shit will try to talk me ears off, it's nothing new."

"Aren't you afraid you'll get kicked out?" Wufei asked carefully as they stepped out into the corridor. It was mostly empty and the few people there paid them no mind as they passed.

Duo shrugged. "Not really, the principal… well he kind of has a soft spot for screw ups so I should be fine until the end of the year." He scratched his cheek and Wufei found himself watching the bruised knuckles. They were bruised because they had defended him. It was an almost overwhelming thought. "I just need to graduate and then I'll be fine." Duo smiled a twisted smile. "And with you on my side I just might even make it."

Wufei swore then and there that he would do anything, anything at all to make sure that Duo graduated.

"Want to work a bit more on the chapter?" Wufei asked before he lost his nerve

Duo shrugged. "Sure. Forest again?"

Wufei thought of the little meadow, sitting next to Duo on the leather jacket. He couldn't think of anything better. "Yeah."

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

That was it for now. _Please _tell me what you thought about it :)

I'll be out of the country for a week and a half now. Any ideas on what to do it Slovene?

I won't have any Internet during that time (Oh, god. The horror) so there won't be a update next week. Sorry :(


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"I'm failing this you know." Duo said, stabbing the book roughly with his finger. "I might handle the rest but this." He snorted, brushing his long bangs away from his face. "I'm fucked."

They were once again sitting on Duo's leather jacket in the forest, math books spread out before them. They had been doing this for a couple of days now. Most of the time they would work on Duo's math assignments but sometimes they would just talk, something that Wufei enjoyed very much.

"I need to pass this so I can graduate." The book was once again stabbed angrily. "I have to graduate so I can move out and live on my own, there's no way I can stand living with foster parents for another year."

"Is it really that bad?" Wufei asked, pushing his glasses up further on his nose.

Duo sighed before tipping backwards onto the moss covered ground. "I've had worse, it's just…" He trailed off, closing his eyes with a sigh.

Wufei looked down on the other boy, taking the opportunity to just watch him.

It had been a strange thing for Wufei to suddenly have a friend. He had been alone for so long that he had started to consider it to be normal. It was strange to suddenly have someone who actively searched him out, who seemed to enjoy is company. To have someone to talk to during the breaks and to sit with during lunch, someone who whispered amusing comments during class and stayed with him no matter who was looking at them.

To have someone who cared.

At first it had been a bit awkward. Wufei wasn't used to socializing, especially not with attractive boys in his own age. He hadn't known what to say and had been almost painfully quiet until he realized that it didn't really matter what he said, Duo would listen anyway.

Duo didn't judge him or make fun of him. He would sometimes tease him but never in a hurtful way. Duo was a genuinely nice guy, even if he was a bit selective when it came to who he was nice to. So far it just seemed to be Wufei, the principal and two of the female teachers who wasn't on Duo's permanent shit list. Wufei was almost guiltily happy about this as it let him have Duo all to himself most to the time. He knew that several of the female students had taken a liking to Duo's bad boy attitude but so far they had only been met by nasty comments and sneers when they had tried to approach him. Wufei sometimes innocently fantasized about being Duo's secret boyfriend and that he was the real reason to why Duo turned down all those girls. It was a nice fantasy, to have such a good looking and protective boyfriend. And really, what was the harm in dreaming?

Duo fished a somewhat crocked cigarette out of his pocket, seemingly ignorant to the adoring way Wufei was looking at him.

Wufei was never going to breathe a word about the attraction he felt for Duo. It wouldn't do any good and the thought of losing his friends was terrifying. "So what are you going to do then, when you've graduated?" He asked instead, taking his eye off the temptation.

Duo shrugged. "Get a job I guess. My uncle will probably help me."

"You'll move closer to him?" He asked carefully. It was one of Wufei's worst fears. That Duo would move away and he wouldn't be able to say anything about it if it was something that would make Duo happy.

Duo was silent for a moment as he thoughtfully stroked his thumb along his lighter. "Don't know, maybe. Or maybe I'll stick around, it's a nice town."

"Yeah, it is." Wufei agreed. And it was, it was a really nice town. It was just the people in it that he didn't like. Wufei gathered his courage, took a deep breath and spoke. "I would like it if you stayed."

Duo gave him a pleased look and a smile before lying back down on the forest floor.

Wufei knew that he was probably reading too much into Duo's reaction but he still felt very satisfied as he laid down next the Duo, their elbows brushing against each other.

It hadn't taken long for Wufei to realize something.

Duo was a liar.

It wasn't that he told lies, it was more like his entire presence was a lie. His mouth and body language said one thing while his eyes said something completely different. He acted like nothing bothered him, like nothing could hurt him. His self confidence was built up like a shield around him. It seemed like he didn't need anything or anyone's help.

But his eyes...

His eyes gave him away.

Duo was just as alone, just as unhappy and insecure as he was.

In a way, Wufei felt like they were helping each other and he prayed that he would get to keep Duo with him.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

They had been walking to the forest together after school for a couple of days when Duo one afternoon didn't follow him when he started walking.

"You're not coming?" He asked, hoping that he didn't sound as disappointed as he was for missing his walk home with Duo. They were the absolute highlight of his day, even more than the lunches they shared and the breaks spent watching Duo do his best to clog up his lungs with smoke. .

Duo leaned back against the wall as he fished a familiar package out of his pocket. "Naw, I'm going to drift for a while." He said, lighting up a cigarette. "The fosters are having people over and I'm not going back there until they are gone."

Wufei took a look around the empty school yard. He had a feeling that Duo's 'while' was going to take several hours and that this was where he was going to spend his time.

"You can hang out at my place... if you want." He offered almost shyly.

Duo looked over at him with one of those smiles that didn't reach his eyes. "It's okay, I'll be fine."

Wufei nervously licked his lips, lifting his backpack further up on his shoulder. "We could start on the new chapter if you want? I have some pretty good work sheets on the new equations at home."

Duo lifted an eyebrow in a way that made Wufei envy him. He wished he could do that and look half as cool as Duo while doing it."You don't have anything better to do on a Friday afternoon than to pull my dead weight through math?"

Like Wufei wouldn't spend every waking moment doing it if he could. "Not really."

Duo took a long drag of his cigarette before nodding. "Okay." he said simply, walking over to fall into step with him.

Wufei forced down the happy grin that wanted to spread over his face

They left the school yard, followed the road that ran through all the suburban villas standing in neat lines, passed the playground before crossing the street, jumping over the deep ditch on the other side and then they were in the forest.

They followed the familiar path through the forest, past their usual hang out until they reached the picket fence around the Chang family's back yard. They jumped over it and started walking over the lawn until they reached a new obstacle.

"Hi. Who are you? What's your name?" Wufei's five year old little sister asked curiously with a plastic horse in each hand. She was staring up at Duo like he was a magical creature who had appeared just for her.

Wufei mentally groaned.

"I'm Duo, I'm a friend of Wufei's." Duo responded, watching the girl just as curiously as she was watching him.

The girl gave him a puzzled look. "But Wufei don't-"

Wufei cut her off by shoving her out of their way. "Just go away." He hissed in annoyances.

"You go away." She retaliated stubbornly and Wufei could tell that she wasn't going to leave them alone. God, just what he needed. He had Duo over for the first time ever and his whiney little sister decides to make a pest out of herself. This called for drastic actions.

Wufei ripped one of the horses away from her and threw it over the fence and into the forest. "Go fetch."

The girl stared in shock at the vegetation that had swallowed her toy. "Moooooom!" She screamed on the top of her lungs before she turned on her heel and ran towards the front yard.

Wufei groaned, not even daring to look over at Duo to see how he was taking the commotion. "Come on, before she comes back." He hurried towards the house and the back door. He opened it and barely had time to kick his sneakers off before Jian and a couple of his friends came running. They were wearing various kinds of armor and plastic swords, something that Wufei found very alarming. They took one look at him, raised their weapons and screamed "Dragon!" before charging towards him.

Wufei felt like he might as well have a sign over his head with the words 'I play with my kid brothers.' Why had he thought that it would be a good idea to bring Duo here?

"Not today, no dragon today!" He called out, diving to the side to avoid being wacked in the head.

"But Wuuuuu." Jian protested but Wufei shook his head. "Not today."

Disappointed the kids trotted passed them out the door, muttering about finding a better monster to fight.

Wufei glanced over at Duo who seemed to be eyeing the kitchen like he had never seen anything like it. At least he didn't seem to be too put out by the welcome committee. "Come on, let's go upstairs."

Duo gave him a twisted smirk. "Sure… Dragon."

Wufei blushed and ducked his head as he led his friend through the house.

Chuanli was searching through one of the plastic toy chests from under the bed when they stepped into the bedroom. He gave his brother about four seconds to find what he was looking for before shoving the protesting boy out the door, praying that the he would stay there.

"Sorry about that." He mumbled, wishing that the door had a lock so he could at least assure that they wouldn't be interrupted again.

Duo was watching him in amusement, standing in the middle of the room with his hands in the pockets of his jacket. "How many are they?"

"Four." Wufei sighed as he walked over to drop down on his bed.

Duo was quiet for a moment, looking at the mess Chuanli had done around the box. "Must be fun to have so many siblings."

"Fun." Wufei snorted. "More like annoying... but most of the time they are alright." He had to confess that he could have gotten stuck with a lot worse. The twins were a bit wild when they wanted to be but were easily distracted if he promised to play with them and their Barbie dolls, Chuanli was stubborn like a mule and Jian drove him absolutely crazy when he was having one of his tantrums. But it was hard to stay mad at them when they came begging for him to help them build a fortress or when they crawled into bed with him on Sunday mornings and wanted him to read them stories.

He just wished that they would be somewhere else right now.

He leaned back against the headboard as he watched Duo explore the room. Duo let his eye sweep over his brothers' side of the room, dismissing it before turning to Wufei's noticeably neater side of the room. There were two book shelves, a bed and a small desk, He was unbelievably grateful to Chuanli for nagging him until he had given away his robot toys collection. It would have been so embarrassing if they had still been standing in his bookshelf when Duo came over. The last thing he wanted was to appear to be a total childish loser in front of Duo... or at least not more than he already was.

"You liked the 'The Dead's Shindig'?" Duo asked, nodding his head towards the movie poster hanging over his desk. On it were a dark ball room with a long shadow from a hunched over shape in the middle.

"Yeah." Wufei replied stupidly, not really knowing what to say. He knew a lot of people didn't like it and he didn't want to declare his alliance too much in case Duo was one of those people.

Duo nodded. "It was a bit slow in the beginning but I thought it was good. I liked the second part better."

Wufei grinned in both relief and happiness. "'Morbid Fascination' was awesome."

Duo grinned. "Agreed, the slasher scene in the forest was insane."

Wufei answered with a grin of his own. "Yeah, the scenery was way better and it had a lot better effects, the first movie didn't even get close:"

Duo tapped a finger against the gloomy poster. "They were more into the hiding in the dark in the first one instead of full out ripping people apart."

Wufei's lips twisted into an ironic smile. "Why do you think I have that poster up instead of the sequel?

Chuanli couldn't sleep with it up on the wall."

Duo snickered as he moved on to the bookshelf; his eyes lingered on the books as he ran his finger over Wufei's favorite horror fiction. He pulled a book with pouring blood on it out from its spot, turning it over to read the back.

Wufei was just about to comment when there was a gentle knocking on the door before it opened.

No.

Wufei felt his face flame in embarrassment.

No, please God no. Would the humiliation never end?

His mother was standing in the doorway, carrying a tray with lemonade and cinnamon buns.

Wufei wished that the floor would open up and swallow him whole.

"I thought you boys needed some encouragement."

Cinnamon buns and lemonade in plastic Mickey Mouse mugs. Wufei felt like he was about to die in shame. This was not happening.

He quickly got off the bed and hurried over to accept the tray in a vain hope that he could get her out as fast as possible. God knows what she would do or say if he gave her the opportunity. She might start asking embarrassing questions or comment on just how few people Wufei brought home with him. The humiliation was overwhelming as it was and he wanted to steer her back towards the door as soon as possible.

"Are you staying for dinner?" She asked Duo.

Wufei put the tray down on the bed as he dared to look over at Duo who looked strangely shy all of a sudden. "Um, if it's not any trouble."

"Of course not, the more the merrier. Do you have any allergies?" She asked, seemingly oblivious to Wufei's insisting eyes and the way he marched over to open the door for her.

"No... just mold."

She laughed. "I'll try to keep that out then."

"Mom." Wufei urged desperately hoping that he didn't sound as whiny as he felt.

"Just let me know if you want anything else."

"Okay, would you just go?" He begged quietly, pushing her towards the door. She gave him an amused smile as she closed the door behind her.

For a second he was almost afraid to turn around.

"Your mom is awesome." Duo mumbled around a bun.

The tension dropped away from Wufei's shoulders as he walked over and sat down on the bed, reaching for a bun of his own. "I guess. She's a bit of a wannabe house wife." It was sad to see his earlier so self confident and independent mother fall into a role that didn't fit her. His father's new wife was like something straight out of the fifties. She always looked perfect, the house was always spotless, dinner was always on the table at six and she always had a big smile on her face. It freaked Wufei out. He was almost surprised that she wasn't fetching his father's slippers when he came home from work.

Duo snorted. "You got lucky, my mom's a crazy druggie, she couldn't cook soup in a microwave."

Wufei stared with his mouth open around his bun. What does one say to that? "Oh." He mumbled through his mouthful.

Duo smiled humorlessly "I'm serious, before they took me away she once actually put the whole unopened soup can into the microwave, one guess to what happened."

"So you got foster parents after that?" He asked, hoping that it wasn't a sour subject. You heard a lot of shit about foster parents who were only in it for the money and how they would abuse their kids. Wufei prayed that Duo wasn't one of them.

Duo didn't appear to be upset by the question as he leaned back against the wall. "Yeah, I wanted to be sent to my uncle but he's a bit... eccentric and the social service didn't think he was fit to take care of me." He snorted angrily. "Like any of the nut jobs I get sent around among are any better. At least Howard wanted me around."

"What about your latest foster parents?" Wufei asked carefully, his fingers absently ripping the bun into pieces.

Duo shrugged, taking a sip of his lemonade. "They're okay. A bit strange and really into the whole new age shit but they leave me alone and I leave them alone."

Wufei couldn't even imagine what it must be like. To not have anyone who cared about you.

Duo finished his bun and reached for another. "So what are we learning today?"

Wufei got up and walked over to his desk to get the work sheets that he had gotten for this exact purpose.

"This." He answered as he sat back down and spread the papers out between them.

They worked effectively next to each other and Wufei almost guiltily enjoyed every second of it. This was a lot nicer, not to mention comfortable than sitting in the forest.

Duo looked very out of place in his bedroom. His black clothes stood out like sore thumb against the light wallpaper with their colorful flowers. They clashed both in style but also because of what they represented to Wufei. It was as if Duo personified his adult desires that now had crashed into the innocence of his childhood. Two worlds trying to occupy the same space. But on the other hand, wasn't that what being a teenager was all about?

"Boys, dinner's ready!" His mother suddenly called out from down stairs.

Wufei flinched, wishing that this wasn't going to be as bad as he was afraid that it would be.

One could always hope.

Duo was almost freakishly polite to his mother during dinner. Wufei was staring at him in wide eyed wonder when Duo acted like he had been invited to dine with the queen, he was almost surprised that Duo wasn't pulling her chair out for her before sitting down.

Thankfully the kids were so fascinated with Duo that they were very well behaved… if openly curious and the dinner went by without any bigger misfortunes.

"Thank you for an amazing dinner Mrs Chang." Duo said politely a he carried his and Wufei's plate over to the kitchen counter.

His mother smiled happily at the compliment. "Oh you're welcome dear." She said before shooing him away when he tried to clean off the rest of the table.

After a few more pleasantries, Duo excused himself to step outside. Wufei followed Duo out and watched as he fished the cigarette packets out off his jacket. He must have felt Wufei looking at him because he turned his eyes over to him.

"What?" He asked with the cigarette dangling between his lips

"I'm starting to wonder if you're trying to make a move on my mom."

Duo rolled his eyes. "Oh ha-ha, very funny. Your mom is nice and there is nothing wrong with being polite." He said, lighting up his cigarette.

Wufei watched the smoke drift by. "I guess."

Duo hummed thoughtfully. "I should get going."

Wufei almost pouted. "Oh… so should we keep working on the work sheets another day?"

Duo grunted. "I swear you're a masochist for volunteering but yeah. When?"

"Tomorrow?"

"Sure." Duo took a long drag. "I should go, the fosters are probably alone by now."

Wufei nodded, trying not to look defeated.

Duo tapped the ash off the end of his cigarette, looking over at him. "I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yeah."

Duo gave him a small casual wave as he strolled across the yard, jumped over the fence and walked away through the forest.

Wufei took a deep breath, getting a last hint of the sharp smell of tobacco. It was a smell that he was starting to associate with happiness. He stood there a minute, looking at the spot where he had last seen Duo before he walked back inside. He met his mother in the kitchen doorway.

"Duo seemes like a nice boy." She said with a smile as she leaned sideways against the doorframe.

Wufei held back a snort. That really depended on how you defined 'nice' He shrugged as he kicked off his shoes. "I guess."

"We'll be seeing a lot more of him, I assume."

The way she said it made him pause. "Maybe..."

"You should have him over for dinner again soon, I'll cook something nice."

Wufei gave her a suspicious look. "Okay..."

"Just tell your boyfriend not to smoke near the kids."

"Mom! We're not- he's not-" Wufei stuttered out in embarrassment.

"Only a matter of time then." With that she walked away, whistling what sounded like 'love is in the air'.

Feeling like he was about to spontaneously combust from humiliation, Wufei hurried to his room.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

A/N Well I'm back from Slovenia after two very hectic weeks. Man, I never knew that there was so much to see there. I totally recommend a visit.

_**Lionchild**_ - *blushes* Thank you *shuffles feet* I'll try to live up to your expectations ;) _**Annoying little Twit**_ – Ever seen that South Park episode where the internet stops working? I swear that episode captures the desperation you feel perfectly. It's like your whole life depends on the internet and you have no idea what to do without it XD It was soooo good to see that little green sign in the bottom of the screen when I got home. Oh, and who doesn't enjoy a bit of dragon torture? You are so not alone :D _**MizVegas06**_ – Thank you :D and I won't be stopping anytime soon. This paring is just too addictive. Oh, if you want, check out my GW universe page if you want to read the porn. There are also two more stories there then here. _**EbonyOsmosis **_– You're right, Duo is a street kid but he so rarely gets the chance to show that. Wufei does need to be "stolen away" from the bullies and that gives Duo the perfect opportunity to show a rougher side. Did I mention that I'm having a great time writing this fiction? :) _**Force Majeur**_ – I'm really sorry to say that no, I did not make up the bulling scenery. The inspiration for this fiction comes both from books and articles about bulling but also from my friend experiences. Kids and teenagers can be very cruel and they have the power to destroy peoples whole life. _**Bethanyshiver**_ *bows* Thank you, I do try :D _**Anf600 **_– Thank you :) It's a good deal, Duo protects Wufei who helps him with school. Its been done before but it's fun. _**Boxxx **_– LOL! Thank you, and it's about time that Wufei gets a bit of help, especially from a cute guy. _**Suicidal-sinner**_ – Another Wufei fan *high five* I'm glad you are enjoying this version of Wufei. _**Turtle kid**_ – Wufei's crush is going to get so much worse, just wait ;) _**Darkrevenge – **_More information about Wufei and his bullies will soon come… probably in the next chapter, we'll see. I took a lot of photos… but not as many as my mother. I don't think there is a rock in the whole country that she doesn't have a picture of. _**Mifibou –**_How this chapter gave you just as many happy feelings :) and I promise that Wufei will get more into character later on. He just needs a bit of encouragement. _**Snowdragonct – **_Well we got to know a bit more about Duo in this chapter, how did you like it? Slovenia was really nice, something that surprised me. It was like visiting Norway (Or Canada in you case), no sign of the war .It was actually never a part of the Russian Federation (that was what I thought too) if I got the information right. It's a part of old Yugoslavia. – Duo really gets to shine :D Glad you like it. _**Seneschal **_– Yeah, you are on the right track. They have a few more reasons but bullies have a habit of going after smaller and as you said, the ones who's "not exactly the paragon of masculinity." And about Duo's reaction to the attack on Wufei. Duo has, just as Wufei, very few people who stands up for him and when he saw how those idiots hurt someone who had helped him, well, he kind of snapped. They have both had a rough time, they just react differently. Wufei tries to hide from the pain while Duo hides the pain. I hope you enjoyed this chapter since we got to see a little bit more of them 'behind the facade' _**Cinnamon Selkie- **_Yay! Lots of fuzzy feelings :) there will be more of them, you better believe it. _**Kidishcaresh – **_Thank you :) Slovenia is actually next to Italy (I also had to look it up when my sister said that she was going to study there)


	5. Chapter 5

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Chapter 5

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Wufei was not pleased. He thought that he was going to have the whole house to himself _for_ _once_ and that he would be able to have Duo over without embarrassment. But then he found out he had been chosen to watch his brothers all day. At a carnival.

Wufei hated carnivals. The rides made him nauseous, the food was awful and the games were not only boring but rigged more often than not.

He was going to protest but his mother was so stressed out over her meeting that he couldn't bring himself to do it. His father's wife had given birth a while ago and there had been a picture of the happy family in the newspaper. His mother had been acting strange ever since.

But Wufei couldn't claim to be totally unaffected by the picture of a happily smiling Tommy standing next to his father who had his arm around his wife and child. It probably hadn't even occurred to his father to include all his children in the picture. It was a family photo after all.

The younger kids probably didn't understand what it all meant but Wufei knew, their father had abandoned them.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

It was with a heavy heart that Wufei canceled their 'study date' as he liked to call it in his head.

"Okay, no problem." Duo said uncaringly like he could think of a thousand better things to do. But Wufei saw the hurt in his eyes and quickly tried to explain. "It's just that mom is going out of town and the family who was going to watch my brothers have two sick kids and I was 'volunteered' to watch them instead."

A smile that for once reached his eyes appeared on Duo's face. "So you are going to spend the day being attacked with plastic swords?"

"God, I wish. No, the family was going to take them along to the carnival and now I have to go with them instead." He grumbled.

"You don't like carnivals?" Duo asked in disbelief.

Wufei shook his head.

"But carnivals are great." Duo protested. "Can I come?"

"You _want_ to come?" Wufei asked before his brain desperately connected the dots and screamed at him that him that he was being offered to spend the day with Duo. "Of course!" Wufei blurted out quickly. "If you want to."

"Yeah, it'll be fun."

Wufei's day was suddenly looking up.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

It was a bright sunny day. The birds were singing and everyone was happy.

"This can't possibly be worth the effort." Wufei grumbled as they finally got to enter the carnival ground after standing in line for far too long. The sun had been shining down mercilessly and Wufei was sweaty and uncomfortable. Really not how he wanted to spend his day.

"Cheer up Dragon, it'll be fun." Duo snickered, putting a hand on his shoulder to push him forward.

Wufei suddenly felt a lot better but the carnival had nothing to do with it. He had a nickname, a _nice_ one that wasn't intended as an insult. It was even a cool one. _Dragon_. He wouldn't mind having Duo call out that name out while- Wufei cut the thought off. He really needed to stop thinking with his cock. Especially while holding his little brothers hand.

"Wuuuu! Can we go on that one?" Chuanli, asked, pulling his hand towards the 'shark pit' as the ride was called.

Wufei have the tall steel construction an unhappy look. "You and Jian can go, I'm staying on the ground."

The boys protested but Wufei stood firm, he was not getting on one of those things. Instead he got them tickets and stood with them in the line while they were talked in excitement. In the corner of his eye he could see Duo looking at them in obvious amusement. Wufei just hoped that Duo didn't think he was a complete coward but not even the chance of looking less like a childish loser in front of Duo could get him into one of those things. Thank god his brothers didn't need him to go with them, Wufei just had to stand where he could be seen and wave at them every time the ride passed him.

He had a faint memory of his father doing the same thing to him when he was younger. It felt wrong that he was the one to stand there as a substitute for the real thing. But on the other hand, his brothers didn't appear to care as they waved as the ride raced by. Wufei was getting dizzy just looking at the shark shaped wagon as it passed him.

"I'll be right back." Duo said, bumping him with this elbow.

Wufei nodded before turning back to the ride just in time to wave yet again. He couldn't believe that thing was considered to be a ride for children. There was clearly something wrong with the world when children wanted to be driven around on a track and be scared to death. Wufei had never enjoyed any faster rides then the spinning teacups and the last time he had been on one he had thrown up as soon as he stepped off. He had felt so sick that his father had carried him around for hours afterwards. Wufei could therefore not understand why someone would step onto that horror ride and enjoy it. It was leaning from side to side and some parts of the ride were really high up. Wufei found himself holding his breath as the 'shark' tipped over the edge and -

Something pink suddenly blocked his view.

"Want some?" Duo offered, holding out a cotton candy stick before him.

Ride forgotten, Wufei carefully pulled a piece of the fluffy pink mass lose. "Thanks." He mumbled, putting it in his mouth.

It was sweet and soft as it melted against his tongue. He glanced up at Duo and suddenly wished he hadn't. Because that was just not fair. Duo was sucking the sticky sugar off his fingers like he was giving a blowjob. Or at least how Wufei envisioned how a blowjob would look. He should stop staring... any second now. Or maybe when Duo managed to get the last of the sugar off the bottom of his forefinger.

Duo blinked when he noticed the staring. Wufei tried not look as embarrassed as he felt but his friend just held out the cotton candy, totally oblivious to what the fingers that was still firmly lodged between his lips were doing to Wufei's mental health. Wufei focused on ripping off a piece of the soft candy.

Together they had just finished their treat when two hyper boys ran over, hanging on to his arms as they chattered in accelerating excitement.

Wufei smiled at their happiness. "How was it?"

"It was great! Did you see high it was?" Jian responded with a grin.

"Sure did."

"Can we go again?" Chuanli cut in and the boys waited impatiently for his answer.

"Wouldn't you rather go on something else?" He asked, wanting a change of scenery.

"_No_." The boys denied instantly.

"There's a pretty cool ride over there." Duo said, pointing with his thumb over his shoulder. "But it might be a bit much for you guys."

Apparently that was all the encouragement they needed before starting to run in the direction Duo had suggested. Wufei cursed and hurried after them. He could only assume that Duo, opposite to him, ended up in the category of 'cool' and did therefore have a greater impact on their decision.

The ride turned out to be a swinging Viking ship. It was a lot bigger than the 'Shark pit' and didn't just swing back and forth, it spun around in a circle so that for a moment you would be hanging upside down.

Wufei thought it looked horrifying, his brothers couldn't get on it fast enough.

He looked over at the boy next to him. Duo was watching the ride with great attention, smiling slightly as the passengers screamed. "You want to go on it?" He asked in dread.

Duo gave the ship a dismissive look. "Don't feel like it right now." Duo, who for once wasn't wearing his leather jacket, pushed his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

Wufei didn't question the obvious lie, he was just happy that he would have some company down on the ground.

About a half an hour later the boys were back, just as excited as the last time. Wufei tried not to be annoyed with them since they were clearly having fun but he was having such a nice time with Duo. They had been talking and joking around in a way that made Wufei feel like he was on top of the world. He really didn't want to have his brothers hanging off him at the moment. Unfortunately it didn't appear like he had a choice as the two boys latched onto his arms and dragged him along.

"Wu, I want one of those." Jian told him, pointing into one of the game booths.

Wufei shook his head. "Sorry, no can do. It's most likely fixed so it's impossible to win."

"But I want it." The boy complained, pulling on his hand.

"Which one did you want?" Duo cut in as he started walking with long steps towards the booth.

Jian quickly ran ahead, leaning against the counter as he pointed at a pretty big black robot with blinking lights and a gun that made a loud blast sounds. It was cheap and ugly but to a seven year old it must have been the coolest thing ever.

"Hey man, what do I have to do to get one of those?" Duo asked, nodding his head towards the toy.

A short man with thin white hair shuffled over to him, taking his cigar out to answer him. "The robot soldiers are a thousand points, you need to either shoot ten space rockets, twenty UFO's, fifty aliens or two hundred of the little duckies." The man finished with a leer, showing off teeth that were more brown than white.

Wufei eyed the set up. From what he could guess the only thing you would be able to hit was in fact the yellow plastic ducks on the bottom. The aliens walking around on the green hill above them were a lot smaller and further away while the UFO's were even worse. The space rockets were the smallest and would just be plain impossible to hit.

The man behind the counter clearly considered Duo to be a easy target just by implying that he wouldn't be able to do it could make Duo spend all his money on proving him wrong.

"Come on, let's get out of here. It's just a waste of money." Wufei said trying to steer his brothers away. But Duo was already fishing up his wallet with his eyes on the space rockets. "How many in a round?" He asked.

"Five." The man grinned, picking up one of the rifles from the shelf behind him.

"I'll take two then." Duo said, looking determined. Or stubborn, depending on how you saw it.

Wufei sighed. "At least let me pay then."

"Sure." Duo replied as he picked up the rifle that had been placed before him, looking it over with a look of concentration.

Wufei paid the smirking man and stepped back to let Duo do his thing. Duo lifted the gun and aimed carefully. They all watched in silence, waiting in anticipation. They waited… And waited…

"Hey kid you need me to show you how to pull the trigger?" The booth owner chuckled, putting the cigar back in his mouth.

Duo didn't answer, he just aimed, took a slow breath and pulled the trigger. One of the small space rockets fell off the sky. Jian and Chuanli cheered and Wufei damn near joined them..

"Nice shot kid, nine to go." The old man nodded in approval.

Duo took aim, not moving a muscle as he stared with one eye at the next rocket. Silence fell over the watchers as they waited. Then Duo let away another shot, making another rocket fall with a small snap.

They stood there almost ten minutes before the last rocket fell to the sound of the two boys screaming in excitement.

The toy was handed over to them accompanied with the sound of applause from the people who had gathered around.

"I want one too!" Chuanli called out, looking pleadingly up at Duo.

Wufei was just about to tell him no when Duo agreed with a shrug.

Duo didn't appear to be in a hurry as he turned back to the game and picked up the rifle.

The man was glancing over at the crowd around the booth. They most likely wouldn't have the patience to wait around until Duo was done.

"I know you can do it." The game owner chuckled as he took the money Duo held out. "Here kid." He handed over one of the plastic toys over to Duo who accepted it with first a look of surprise, then one of understanding as the man moved on to several gun happy kids standing next to him.

"Where did you learn to do that?" Wufei asked, looking over at the thrilled boys who were examining their robots.

"My uncle Howard owns a lot of guns." Was all Duo said as he pushed his hands into his pockets and turned away dismissively.

The boys were thrilled, they loved their new robot soldiers and Duo was officially their new hero. Wufei just knew that he would never be able to have Duo over undisturbed now.

They walked aimlessly for a while among the booths, lines of impatient people and screaming children. Strolling next to Duo, Wufei had a feeling that he couldn't explain. Wufei hadn't had any friends for years but he couldn't remember that it felt like this. It was thrilling and comforting at the same time. He felt like he was growing more confident in Duo's presence, like some of Duo's indifferent and confident attitude was rubbing off on him.

He hoped he was right and that he one day would be able to be more like Duo.

The boys soon found another ride that they wanted to go on and Wufei dutifully stood with them in the line to go on some kind of rollercoaster that was going to shoot them up into the sky before dropping them down towards the ground again. Duo had wandered off somewhere and Wufei desperately hoped that Duo didn't feel bored or thought he was being too attached to his brothers. But they were pretty young and they shouldn't get to run around too much on their own. They might get lost or go somewhere they shouldn't and get hurt. He was actually surprised that no one had protested against their presence on some of the rides they had gone on.

As they reached the end of the line, Wufei took a couple of steps back not to be in the way and smiled at his brothers as they got strapped into what he considered to be torture machine. The ride boosted up and Wufei held his breath as the seats started to slowly rise into the air. He felt more nervous than the boys appeared seemed to be and he could feel cold shivers run down his back as they reached the top.

"Here." Wufei blinked as he was being handed a blue stuffed dragon.

"I thought you should have some back up against the knights." Duo grinned as he stepped up next to him.

Wufei didn't know what to say as he stroke a hand over the soft dragon's back. The gift meant a hell of a lot more to him then Duo could realize and would ever understand. For a heart stopping moment Wufei felt like they were dating and that his boyfriend had just won him something. Then reality started to nag at him that Duo were just teasing him for being hit over the head with plastic swords on a regular basis. But still, even if it was just a gift from a friend it was more precious to him than any other gift he had received.

"Thank you, I think I'll need it." He smiled, trying to contain some of his happiness that that he wouldn't look too happy over a cheap stuffed toy. Duo seemed happy too, his smile even reached his eyes something that made him even more handsome to Wufei.

Feeling a blush coming on, Wufei looked away and over to the ride. He had totally missed the boys fall and they were now being shot into the air instead of the slow rising in the beginning. Why someone would pay to let that be done to them was beyond Wufei's understanding.

"You couldn't give me enough money to go on that thing." He said out loud, even when he had planned for it to stay in his head. The gift had unsettled him and he felt a need to be as close to Duo as he could, even if it was just to talk about how much he hated roller coasters.

Duo smirked. "What? So if someone offered you like ten million to ride it, you wouldn't do it?"

Just then the people on the ride screamed all at once as they were dropped in free fall from high up in the air.

"Does that go for all rides?" Duo teased, flicking the dragon in his arms on the nose.

Wufei figured that he would probably get on the Spinning Tea Cups again for two million but that would be it. "More or less, I never go on any rides, haven't in years."

"Oh come on, you have to go on at least one ride while we're here." Duo urged like it was a universal law.

Wufei frowned unhappily, hugging the dragon against his chest. "I rather not, you go right ahead if you want to go on one."

Duo shrugged, looking over to the rocket launcher. "Naw, don't feel like it right now. But we should at least go on one ride."

It was the '_we'_ that did it. Wufei figured that if he got to sit next to Duo then he could probably stand being nauseous and uncomfortable. "Okay, which one?" He asked, pointedly not looking over at the Love Tunnel to their right. What he wouldn't do to get to sit next to Duo in a plastic swan in a dim tunnel.

"You don't like the fast rides do you?"

"My stomach doesn't" Wufei confessed.

"Ferris wheel?" Duo suggested, pointing over at what they could see of the big wheal further away.

Wufei nodded gratefully. He wasn't scared of heights and it didn't move very fast so he shouldn't be affected by it.

"Cool, I'll go get us some tickets." Duo grinned as he started walking. "I'll be right back." He called over his shoulder.

Wufei watched him go until his brothers ones again attacked him, describing the ride in details until Wufei almost started to feel motion sickness. They started walking in the direction of the Ferris wheel and Wufei suddenly wondered how many tickets Duo was going to buy. He would have loved going on the ride alone with Duo but what about his brothers? He couldn't leave them all alone at a carnival. They were too young to walk around on their own and god knows what they would do if he wasn't with them.

His worries didn't stop until Duo showed up.

"Ready for standing in another line?" Duo asked, waving a small bundle of tickets in front of him.

"But it's boring!" Jian protested. "It's so slow."

"That's a good thing." Duo said confidently. "If it went any faster we would all fall off and we would be nothing but guts and blood splatter on the ground. I heard that one guy who fell out was split completely in two when he hit one of the wires on the way down." Duo said with an evil grin.

"Wicked!" The boys suddenly looking a lot more eager to get on it.

Duo handled out the tickets and Wufei accepted his with small smile. "I'll pay you back."

"Naw, don't worry about it, this one's on me." Duo said as they started walking towards the pretty short line. Apparently there were more people who thought the ferries wheel was a bit boring.

Wufei was actually looking forward to it. It was pretty pointless to walk around among all the rides without going on any of them. Not to mention that you couldn't help but feel that there was something wrong with you since everyone else seemed to enjoy being tossed around like a sock in a washing machine. Wufei was really grateful that Duo had stayed with him even if he suspected that Duo would most likely enjoy several of the rides.

The line in front of them soon came to its end and a cart that reminded Wufei of a giant muffin with windows came to a stop in front of them.

The boys just about ran inside while Wufei felt a moments of hesitation. It only lasted for a second before Duo put a hand on his shoulder. "I was lying about the falling and the blood splatter thing, you know." Duo whispered.

"I know." Wufei said and with a quick breath he stepped off the platform and into the cart.

The boys were standing on their knees on one side, looking out as they talked in excitement. Their beloved robot warriors lay forgotten beside them.

Duo took a seat furthest in, one leg resting on his knee with his arm up on the backrest. The cart wasn't very big and that gave Wufei the perfect excuse to take a seat right next to him, knowing that Duo's arm was resting behind him, almost like it was around him.

The wheel started moving and slowly they were rising into the air. The cart was cool, a refreshing change to the harsh sunlight outside.

"Wuuu! Look! That's my school." Jian called out in excitement, pointing out towards some specific building out there.

"Cool." Wufei answered to show that he was paying attention. Slowly he leaned back against the seat, hoping that Duo wouldn't move his arm. He didn't.

Wufei glanced over at Duo to see how he was reacting but the other was looking out towards the ocean in the distance. He most likely hadn't even noticed that Wufei was more or less snuggling in under his arm. Wufei was going to enjoy it as long as he could.

The wheel turned slowly. All around them the world spread itself out. The carnival area seemed pitifully small, houses and roads as well while the ocean looked like an endless blue blanket spread out in the distance. The people bellow didn't seem bigger then plastic toys and the earlier so intimidating rides looked ridiculously small from up there. The boys were happy, Duo looked content and Wufei's neck was brushing against Duo's arm every now and then when he turned his head. The world was perfect and Wufei didn't ever want to come down.

But of course, nothing lasts forever and the cart soon reached the ground again.

"That was pretty cool." Wufei confessed as they had gotten out and were walking away through the crowded square in front of the wheel.

Duo gave him a small smile. "Good." Was all he said as he looked back towards the boys who had stopped to wait for them. Chuanli reached out and tugged at Wufei's hand. Wufei shifted the dragon over to his other arm so he could hold his brothers hand as he listened to the happy chatter that never seemed to end. Chuanli had still not reached the age where he thought it was embarrassing to hold hands and Wufei couldn't pretend that he didn't enjoy it. But apparently Chuanli wasn't the only one as Jian snuck up on his other side, pulling on his arm.

Wufei fumbled with the dragon and the robot Chuanli had forgotten on the seat as he tried to get a hold of his little brothers hand without dropping anything. The sound of Duo's chuckle reached him and the toys were easily pulled out from under his arm. Wufei gave him a grateful look before focusing on where he put his feet as he kept up with the two smaller boys. For having so short legs, they were terrifyingly fast and Wufei was glad that he was holding on to them in the thick crowd around them.

Jian led them over towards the ride that he had seen from the Ferris wheel, making Wufei sigh when he saw it, wondering if there was a line to what people would put themselves through. The gigantic ride contained several seats that was lifted up into the air and then tossed around in a way that really couldn't be healthy. Reluctantly he led his brothers over to the line, cursing the genes that made his brothers so tall for their age.

The line was closed in by several chest high fences and his brothers reluctantly agreed to let him wait for them on the sideline with the promise that he was going to wave as soon as they got on. Duo had once again wandered off and Wufei uncomfortably shifted his feet as he found himself a relatively quiet spot where he could lean back against a light post. He was getting a bit tired and he wanted nothing more than to go home.

"Here." Duo handed him a paper cup.

Wufei blinked down at the orange soda in it. "Oh, thank you."

Duo shrugged nonchalantly looking out over the passing stream of people.

Wufei gratefully took a sip. The fluid was cold and sweet against his tongue and he sighed happily."God, just what I needed." He said, licking his lip to catch a straying drop.

"You look hot." Duo mumbled as he searched through his pockets.

Wufei took another sip of the soda. "Yeah, the sun is freaking killing me. Wonder if there is anywhere to sit in the shade"

Duo made a thoughtful sound. "Maybe, but the benches are probably already taken."

Wufei nodded his agreement.

It hadn't started out so bad but as the afternoon stretched on, the weather had gotten a lot hotter. The ice cream man probably makes a hell of a lot of money on days like this.

"There was a tree over by the cotton candy stand, maybe we can sit there." Duo suggested, pointing with the unlit cigarette that he had mange to find.

"Hopefully they're done soon." Wufei groaned, indication his brothers who were about to reach the end of the line.

"Shouldn't take that long to be shaken like a ragdoll." Duo remarked dryly.

They waited quietly, sipping their soda as the line slowly moved. Then as the boys reached the ride, Wufei dutifully waved together with Duo who was joking about feeling like he was waving of a space shuttle.

The sun was shining down on them and by the time his brothers returned Wufei was starting to feel a bit faint. It really was time for him to rest. Following Duo he got his brothers some ice cream and took a seat next to his friend under the tree he had found. With sigh he leaned back against the rough bark, feeling Duo's arm brush against his arm. The sun was flickering gently over them through the leaves and Wufei lazily watched people rushing by. He looked over at his brothers to make sure that they weren't making a too big mess before glancing over at his friend. Duo's eyes were closed, his hands lying in his lap as he rested. Wufei noted that Duo was starting to look a bit red from the sun, he was most likely going to burn.

Just then Duo jawed and opened his eyes. "We should get going or we are going to miss the parade." He said, stretching his arms up over his head.

Wufei agreed, looking away in embarrassment over having been caught staring.

"Do we have to?" Jian suddenly spoke up as the rest of them got to their feet.

Wufei frowned in confusion. The parade was one of the things the boys had been talking about the most, and now one of them suddenly didn't want to go.

"No, we can do something else if you want but I thought you wanted to see it."

At first it seemed like the boy wasn't going to answer, then he made Wufei lean down before whispered in embarrassment. "Simon said that they have clowns and I don't like them." Jian confessed quietly.

Wufei blinked. This was news to him and he had no idea how to convince him that clowns wasn't dangerous, they very just obnoxious men in too much make up.

"Me neither." Duo said, looking down at the boy through his bangs, clearly having heard every word. "I tell you what, if they come anywhere close to us I'll punch them."

"Really?" Jian sounded far too happy about it and was most likely hopping that there would be some intrusive clowns coming their way.

"Sure, I'll hit him straight on the red nose." He said, holding up a tight fist before the boy.

Jian giggled happily and they started walking.

'Thank you' he mouthed to Duo over his shoulder and his friend nodded in response. Wufei held on tightly to both his brothers as they started to close in on their destination. It was becoming more crowded and he didn't want to lose them. They tried to find somewhere to stand but it was proving to be more difficult than they had first thought.

"Here." Duo called out suddenly, taking a hold of Wufei's arm and pulling him into an empty spot right at front. It was a bit tight with a large man with a beer belly to his right and a couple of teenage girls to his left. He could fit one of the boys in front of him but if he tried to get both of them was most likely going to get an elbow in the head or something.

"I can't see." Jian complained then squeaked as Duo took a hold under his arms and lifted him up on his shoulders. Wufei blinked as he looked up at his brother who seemed to think he was sitting on top of the world as he held on to Duo's hair like it were handles. Duo really was turning into his brothers' biggest idol. Not that Wufei could blame him.

They didn't have to wait long before the distant sound of marching band was heard. Wufei wasn't very fond of them but he waited patiently until they had passed, closely followed by a drill team of girls in short skirts. Wufei sighed. He really couldn't care less.

After then came a somewhat modest floater with people dressed like they shouldn't have been allowed to leave the 80's. After them the floater with the pumped up music came and brought some life into the whole thing. The dancers, especially the male ones made things more interesting.

A float clearly influenced by Charlie and the chocolate factory were throwing out candy. Jian seemed to be able to catch his body weight in sweets from his spot on Duo's shoulders. "Be careful." Wufei scolded when he saw, Jian opened up one of the wrapped candy pieces. "Don't drop any on Duo." The boy gave him a look like he was an idiot and why the hell would he drop any of his precious candy. Wufei sighed and turned back to the parade just as a floater with fairy princesses drove past and right behind them there were several colorful clowns. "Would you please not hit the clowns?" Wufei asked quietly, an amused smile playing on his lips.

Duo glanced up at the nervous looking boy on his shoulder. "Sorry, no can do. I always keep my promises."

Wufei rolled his eyes but still felt pleased that Duo was getting along with his brothers. It was nice.

Luckily for the clowns they didn't come anywhere close but that might have had something to do with the glare Duo was giving them.

Then the float from one of the boys' favorite morning cartoons appeared. Wufei had seen far too many episodes with them and was embarrassed to realize that not only could he remember all five characters names but also their veesel's names and he could also tell what space colony the float itself was meant to be. He really was spending too much time with his brothers.

More floats and dancers passed but what Wufei enjoyed the most was how the lack of space pressed Duo up behind him. By just shifting his weight Wufei could easily lean back again the other boy. He didn't, but that didn't mean that he couldn't feel Duo's chest against his back. It was nice.

But no matter how nice it was Wufei couldn't help but glare at the girls next to him when he realized that they were watching Duo more than the parade. The three girls were giggling and whispering as they gave the tall boy looks that had no business being on their faces.

"More clowns." Duo whispered against his ear, his arm resting against his shoulder as he pointed down the road. "Think I can get away with it if I claim the kid kicked him?"

Wufei tipped his head back, giving his friend a grin. "Probably not."

"Damn." Duo muttered with a repressed smile, making Wufei snicker.

They turn back to the parade and Wufei felt warm as Duo didn't remove his arm from him at once, letting him soak in the closeness for just a moment first.

The parade lasted for about forty five minutes and they all seemed grateful to see the end of it.

The younger boys were tired and Wufei couldn't claim to be much better. Jian was still sitting on Duo's shoulders, now leaning down over his head, looking like he was going to fall asleep any second. Wufei had lifted Chuanli up on his back when the smaller boy started to stumbled and drag his feet.

They headed for the exit, sidestepping families with crying children, cleaners and strolling couples. Wufei focused on trying to keep an eye on Duo so he wouldn't lose him in the crowd until they finally found themselves on the sidewalk outside.

"Well that was fun." Duo said as they steered their steps towards the bus stop.

"Yeah, it was." Wufei admitted.

Duo leered. "Told ya."

Wufei nodded. He was not going to mention that the only reason that he had enjoyed it at all was because of Duo.

They managed to catch a bus back and the ride home was uneventful if you didn't count brushing against Duo's arm as the bus took a tight turn.

It didn't take long before they reached the familiar street and got off.

Wufei had been hoping that Duo was going to stay with him for a while but his dream was shattered as Duo handed back the dragon. "I'll see you in school then."

Wufei held back a sigh over the fact that he was going to have to go a whole day without seeing Duo. "Yeah, thanks for coming along."

"Sure, later." Duo gave him a small wave before turning to walk down the street.

Wufei quietly watched him leave. The dragon smelled faintly of Duo's cigarettes and he pressed his nose against the soft fur and breathed in deeply.

For once, Wufei could hardly wait until Monday.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

A/N

Well, once again, that was it for now. Please, if you feel like you can spare a second then tell me what you thought about it :D


	6. Chapter 6

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Chapter 6

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

"How come you're so good at this math thing?" Duo asked as they walked behind the bike shed on the break after their first class on Monday morning. The building was standing in the far end of the school yard, just a few meters away from a high wooden fence. The ground around it was covered with pebbles, mixed with cigarette butts, candy wrappers and things better left unexplored. Before Duo showed up, this had been the hang out place for the popular kids but since then they had abruptly chosen to move to behind the gym instead.

Wufei shrugged. "Don't know, it's fun." Duo had been muttering unhappily over their latest math assignment all the way there.

"Fun?" Duo asked like he couldn't believe that someone had connected the word fun with mathematics.

"It's like a puzzle, or a riddle. " Wufei explained as he sat down on the ground with his bag in his lap. "Math has no uncertainties, just logic and rules." He leaned his head back against the wall as he looked up at Duo who was searching through his pockets for his lighter. "Math is a lot easier to understand than people."

Duo laughed, cigarette dangling between his lips. "Some people are just plain strange."

"Everyone is strange one way or the other, I think a lot of people would consider the both of us to be strange."

"Point." Duo acknowledged with a tilt of his head. "But they don't know us either. On the other hand, the people who think we're strange are the people I don't want to know."

Wufei grinned. "They are also the people that don't want to know us."

"Fuck 'm, it's their loss." Duo announced cockily.

"Well, you must confess that you don't exactly come off as the most approachable guy ever."

Duo snorted as he kicked a plastic bottle against the fence, making it bounce back with a hollow smack. "Show some weakness and people will walk all over you."

Wufei dropped his eyes down to his bag, the playful mood suddenly all gone. He knew Duo was telling the truth, because it was a truth he lived with every day. Unfortunately Wufei didn't have much else to show but weakness and even when he tried to hide it they saw straight through it.

Duo breathed out a cloud of smoke, watching it as it drifted away. "I've moved so much in the last few years and been the new kid so many times that I know for a fact that if you show the least bit of weakness, you're fucked."

Wufei nodded his agreement.

Duo took a long drag of his cigarette, breathing out slowly before meeting Wufei's eyes straight on. "I make sure that where ever I go, I will always be the meanest bastard there. I will be the dirtiest fighter. I will be the loudest, the cockiest and the most unbeatable son of a bitch any of those low lives has ever had the misfortune of meeting."

Wufei nodded again, wishing desperately that he could be more like the boy in front of him. He wanted to be able to fight back, he wanted to walk with his head held high. He wanted to be unbeatable.

Back when the bullying had first started, way back when Tommy had still been his friend, he had tried to get help. He had told his parents, his teachers, everyone he thought could help. Their solution was to have a meeting where all his bullies shared their disbelief and innocence. They had no idea what Wufei was talking about. They claimed that while they were not the closest of friends they would never even dream about bullying him, or anyone else for that matter. In the end of the meeting it seemed like everyone had agreed that it had all been in Wufei's head and that he should try to get along better with his classmates.

Wufei felt cold whenever he thought about the bullies' retaliation afterwards.

He had learned not to tell anyone after that. He had let his parents believe that everything was fine. He hid his bruises, made up lies and excuses when he came home with ripped clothes, destroyed books or broken glasses. He fell, he'd been tackled during gym, he had run into a door, he had dropped the books down the stairs, he had accidently sat down on his glasses. The lies came easier and easier.

The teachers didn't see a thing, or if they did they pretended not to. 'Let the kids work out their own problems' seemed to be the motto. But when the problem appeared to be Wufei's mere existence, he wasn't all that convinced that it could be solved. Not if he didn't end up hanging himself, and sometimes that felt like a far too tempting idea. To just make it end. To let his death haunt his executioners lives, to let them know that his death was on their conscience.

But he couldn't do that to his family. They were the only reason why he went on.

And now… he had Duo too. His knight.

Duo walked over and sank down next to him on the pebble covered ground, heels digging up deep ditches as he stretched his legs out. "This place is pretty nice though, I hope I get to stay, I usually don't get to stick around for very long."

_No_. Wufei's happiness crashed and burned at those words. A sharp pain fired up in Wufei's chest at the threat of losing his new and only friend. The thought of going back to being all alone was terrifying to consider.

"How come?" He asked, dreading what he would hear.

Duo didn't answer for a moment. "My foster parents keep sending me back." He shrugged like he didn't care but his eyes said differently. "Not that I can blame them, no one wants the 'troubled and unbalanced' kid with a violence problem." He lifted some rocks up, creating a small pile between his legs.

"What about your new foster parents?" Wufei asked, wishing with everything he had that he would get a positive answer. He could not lose his only friend, not when he had just gotten him.

"They haven't gotten sick of me yet." Duo said easily as he brushed his hands off.

"Yeah." Wufei breathed, praying that they never would.

They sat silently a while, looking at the graffiti covered fence and the cloud free sky above.

Duo absently scratched his slightly sun burned nose, making the skin flake. "I've been wondering, is there a reason why those fucking goons always go after you? "

Wufei sighed. "They've been doing it for years but it didn't start out that bad." It had been bad, but at least he could sometimes go a week without getting beaten up. "But… I guess that over time they just found reasons to hate me."

Duo snorted. "They are fucking idiots if they can find reasons to do that."

Wufei was for a moment so happy that he couldn't speak. The affection that he had for the boy next to him was so great that Wufei really would do anything, _anything_ at all for him. The urge to lean over and kiss him was almost overwhelming. He turned his face away. Some things were better left undone and undiscovered.

"Tommy and I used to be friends." He said, picking up a handful of pebbles, letting them fall between his fingers.

Duo looked over at him in surprise. "No way, you were friends with that idiot?"

Wufei laughed sadly. "He use to be really nice… but that was years ago. I think he singles me out because he doesn't want people to think that we still friends."

He had been in the same class as Tommy since kindergarten. They had been inseparable in those days, they would do everything together. Then their class had been put together with another class as they reached fourth grade. Suddenly Tommy didn't want to play with him anymore, he had been more interested in girls, skateboards and getting in trouble with more popular kids.

Wufei had never felt so betrayed as the first time Tommy had joined in on beating him up behind the gym.

Duo muttered something about 'idiots' under his breath, making Wufei smile.

Tommy had urged the rest of his friends to go after Wufei, something that they had been far from reluctant to do. Then when his father married Tyler's mother, there was suddenly two people who had a personal interest in making his life hell.

"Tyler is my father's wife's son you know." Wufei mumbled softly. He had never told anyone about that but it felt right to tell Duo.

Duo grimaced. "Aw man. Bummer."

Wufei laughed shortly. "Yeah, it really is." Sometimes he almost thought Tyler was jealous at him because of his father. He had gotten the impression that Tyler's own father had never been around very much.

"So what about the blond guy?" Duo asked, tapping the ash off his cigarette.

"Nick? He's more of a follower. He hates me because they hate me." Nick was one of those people who seemed to bully people so he wouldn't be bullied. He was a bit overweight, a bit slow on the uptake and hair so thin it almost looked like he was getting a bald spot. Nick knew very well that it might as well be him in Wufei's shoes and he did everything he could to make sure that the hierarchy stayed the way it was.

They were not the only people who tortured him daily, but Nick, Tyler and Tommy was the worst.

They were the most sinister of them all. They would make it into a sport. They liked to hunt him, make him fear them before they would strike down on him. And sometimes they would come at him randomly when he was least expecting it. When he thought he was safe and began to relax they would attack him without warning.

It was like they felt no sympathy. Like they didn't feel a thing but satisfaction as they hurt him.

But those times seemed to be over now. All thanks to the boy next to him. A rough but sweet boy who had changed his life.

Wufei looked over at Duo who was once again scratching his red nose. His heart leaped and he wondered if this was what being in love felt like.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

It was time for psychology, one of the few classes they didn't share. Duo had wandered off to woodcraft and hopefully that was where he was going to stay. Mr. Fagerhult did not like skippers and if Duo wanted to pass he'd better show up for class.

With books in hand, Wufei waited outside the classroom. There were more people there but no one spared him a glance. He might as well have been invisible. A familiar loneliness rolled in his chest. To be ignored was in a way even worse than name calling and such. It was like you weren't even worth the time to acknowledge. He remembered times where he had just wanted to scream, throw something, _anything_ to make people realize that he was even there. Just to stop them from refusing to meet his eyes, to stop pretending that they didn't hear him when he asked a question, to really _see_ him. Loneliness could eat you alive, it killed you from the inside until there was nothing left.

It was unbelievable what difference it made to have a friend. The feeling was impossible to put into words. To have someone on your side, someone you could trust. It made all the difference in the world.

The teacher showed up and Wufei quickly took a seat in the front as the door was unlocked. No one sat down next to him.

The class was interesting but Wufei found his thoughts drifting. He thought back to the weekend, remembering everything they had done and said. He was smiling stupidly as he remembered the ferris wheel ride and the plush dragon that now rested next to his pillow at home.

When the class ended Wufei had barely made any notes and he just knew that he had to read up on everything they had been working on. If he could just figure out what it was.

Feeling a bit stupid for spacing out Wufei collected his books and headed for the door.

"Wufei, a second please."

Wufei faltered as the teacher called out to him turning around to face him. was a handsome teacher, fresh out of the university but one of the better teachers they had. Wufei really liked his lessons and when he didn't he could always entertain himself by checking out the teachers nice ass that was usually fitted into a tight pair of jeans.

"Yeah." He fidgeted slightly as he waited for the man to speak, feeling a bit impatient. He wanted to see Duo as much as he could before their next class.

The teacher seemed to hesitate as he adjusted his glasses before meeting Wufei's eyes. "I've noticed that Maxwell has been spending time with you lately."

Wufei stiffened, suddenly feeling a great deal of dread on what he'll say next.

"I just want you to know that if there is anything you want to talk about, than you can come to me."

Wufei blinked in confusion, unsure what they were talking about. He had been expecting a lecture not… whatever this was. "Okay…" He answered uncertainly.

"If you need any advice or just want to talk you know where to find me."

Wufei nodded, not sure what he was agreeing to.

His teacher smiled. "Good, just wanted to let you know that you are not alone and I know what you are going through."

Wufei restrained himself from rolling his eyes. Teachers always claimed that they knew exactly what you were going through but it was always just plain bullshit. "Okay, thanks. Can I go?" He asked feeling a bit rude but the impatience won out.

"Of course." Wufei turned and managed to take a couple of steps before the teacher called out again. "Just make sure to use condoms."

Realization hit Wufei like a fast running train and he blushed brightly as he escaped out the door. He couldn't believe that someone had seen straight through his façade and – and-

Wufei felt like he was going to die of humiliation. Thank God that Duo wasn't in 's class or he would have insisted on staying during the talk and Wufei would have –_died_- if the teacher had said that in front of Duo.

Wufei hurried blindly towards his locker, desperately trying to erase the word _condom _from his head.

Unlocking the door he exchanged his books and was just about to try to calm down when he saw something in the corner of his eye.

Oh no, oh fuck. Tommy was coming around the corner. Fear rushed through him, chilling him from the inside.

He had to get away. Quickly he shut his locker and hurried down the hallway, trying to get pass all the people in his way. But he wasn't exactly the type of person that his fellow students stepped out of the way for and it slowed him down terrifyingly quickly. His heart was racing and he could almost feel Tommy's glare against the back of his neck.

A heavy hand landed on his shoulder, spinning him around, pushing him back against the wall.

"What's the hurry faggot?"

Wufei looked up into that smirking face in dread. He knew what was coming. It always did. The pain. He had been naïve to think that Duo was going to be able to save him. There was no getting away from this. He closed his eyes, waiting for it.

"Take a step back fucker." Duo's angry voice cut in suddenly before Tommy was shoved away from him.

The other boy seemed to try to gather the courage to fight back but failed when Duo took a threatening step forward. Tommy sneered out a few dismissive words like he couldn't have cared less about them before turning on his heel.

"Damn, these fuckers are unbelievable." Duo grumbled angrily, glaring at Tommy's retreating back. "Come on, let's go." He said, taking a protective stand next to him as they started walking, eyes scanning the surrounding students.

Wufei felt his whole body relax. He was safe now.

They walked into the classroom and Duo, as usual, took the seat next to him, guarding him from attackers. Not that many dared to try anything now days. No one wanted to mess with Duo during class since the boy didn't hold back, no matter if the teacher was watching or not. The last time someone threw something at Wufei during class, Duo had jumped over the desk and hit the guilty one in the face with a dictionary. There had been no more paper balls after that.

The amount of times when the bullies was actively seeking Duo out was also getting fewer when Duo kept coming out on top. Looking worse for wear but always acting like he had won which in the end was all that mattered.

Life just kept getting better… despite comments about condoms.

Wufei smiled down at his books, feeling Duo's protective presence behind him.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Duo stood leaning sideways against the locker next to his, waiting as he was arranging his books. In the corner of his eye he could see Aaron hovering, clearly too afraid to walk up to Duo and ask him to move out of the way. Duo did look intimidating in his black washed up jeans, open leather jacket that framed some kind of band t-shirt with corpses on it. He stood leaning on his hip in a provokingly feminine stand that just screamed 'I dare you to say something!' while speaking loudly with far more curses then were strictly necessary.

Wufei took a bit longer than he needed to get ready just to mess with Aaron. He could be petty if he wanted to.

They went outside and walked towards one of the picnic benches at the edge of the school yard.

It was warm outside and Duo shrugged off his leather jacket before dropping his math book down on the table with the attitude of someone who was too cool to be seen with something as boring as school work. Wufei smiled and took a seat with his own book, watching in the corner of his eye as Duo tried to talk and light his cigarette at the same time. He was somewhat successful.

Wufei was sure getting a lot of passive smoking now days but he really didn't care as he gave the t-shirt covered chest next to him a look of appreciation. Duo was groaning as he stretched his arms up over his head, exposing a bit of skin as his t-shirt was lifted. Wufei tried to be discreet as he peeked because if it was something he was not prepared to do, it was to risk losing his knight in shiny leather jacket.

Duo didn't notice, he was far too busy complaining over the unfair treatment from the teachers.

Wufei personally thought that some of their teachers should be sainted for having to deal with a bored Duo. Not that he would ever tell his friend that.

After a while they managed to settle down and focus their attention on the books.

"So how did you do this again?" Duo asked, tapping his pencil against the table.

Wufei looked over to see what he was talking about before he once again started to explain. There were just two more days until Duo's first math test and they had to go through all the things that they had worked on before to make sure that Duo would remember it. So far it was going pretty good and Duo could handle most of it.

A group of people passed their table at a distance and Wufei could tell that they were watching them.

Their friendship seemed to confuse people. Several teachers had pulled him aside, asking him if Duo was threatening him into helping him or if he was doing Duo's homework for him. Since the earlier so uninterested boy was now turning in papers with top grades there had to be something wrong.

He had held back his anger as he had told them no. Duo was not stupid, he just thought he was. Too many years of being the new kid who was always behind in everything had shaped him into believing that he couldn't figure things out, couldn't remember or that he was just too plain stupid to understand what the teachers were talking about.

Wufei might read through his work, suggesting changes and pointing out spelling mistakes, but other than that, Duo did it all on his own.

"The bitch is going to fry my ass over this." Duo groaned as Wufei finished his explanation.

"She will not." Wufei smiled fondly over his friends dramatics. The math teacher did in fact have a soft spot for Duo and was giving him a lot of lee way to catch up.

"She's like something out of the 'The Dead's Shindig.'" Duo grumbled as he pulled his book closer.

"I'm sure you'll be fine even if she is a demon from the underworld." Wufei teased, gently patting Duo's hand.

Wufei didn't know if he had lingered too long against Duo's skin or if he had somehow been too intimate. But whatever it was he had done, it made Duo jump and pull his hand away.

Wufei felt like his heart had stopped.

Had he been too obvious? Had Duo figured it out? By the uncomfortable look on Duo's face, he must have. His friend was even shifting further down the bench, not a lot, but it was enough to send a statement. Wufei felt like crying. No, no, no, God no. He had fucked up and given himself away, something he had promised himself that he wouldn't do.

The sorrow made it hard to breathe and Wufei didn't know what to do. What should he do? Apologize? Tell him it wasn't a big deal?

"So did I get this right?" Duo said suddenly, eyes hidden behind his ruffled bangs.

Wufei forced air into his lungs. Duo wasn't looking at him but at least he was talking to him. This was going to have to be enough. In silent communication, Duo was telling him to back off and that he was not interested in being closer to him then he was now.

He swallowed awkwardly, looking down at the note book. "Yeah, looks like it."

Duo nodded and pulled his note book back, leaning down over it in seemingly great concentration. He had stopped tapping his pencil and shifting his feet, he was just sitting there. The lack of movement was making Wufei nervous.

Silently they sat next to each other. Duo didn't seem to be able to finish the equation he was working on and Wufei was too busy cursing himself out to either help him or focus on his own work. Telling himself that he was being an idiot and that he could cry over his own stupidity later, Wufei picked up his pencil, only to lose his grip on it, making it fall down on the bench before rolling away from him. He reached out, trying to catch it, in the corner of his eye he saw Duo do the same. The feel of skin was like a shock as their hands touched again. But this time Duo didn't pull away. And neither did Wufei.

Wufei glanced up and their eyes met. The silence that followed was long and tense. His heart was beating too fast and his breathing was speeding up. He didn't know what to do and then... then Duo's finger slowly hooked around his, making the pencil roll off the bench.

Wufei glanced down at their joined fingers and back up at Duo who was looking down at his open math book with a light blush on his cheeks.

If sorrow made it hard to breathe, the raw, overwhelming happiness was even worse.

Wufei didn't know what to do. He figured that throwing himself over Duo and ripping his pants off might be a bit much... for now. Instead he held on to Duo's fingers, his heart beating uncontrollably.

They didn't manage to solve many mathematical problems that day, both too focused on two hands holding on to each other.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

A/N

About time, right? ;)

_**Kaliko the Cat**_ - Glad to hear that you are enjoying yourself :) and ta-da! They are now together. Happy? _**philomina**_ - I'm happy you liked it :) I hope I lived up to your expectations, this one is for you after all ;) _**Sandra**_ - Thank you, I'll try my best to update this again as soon as possible. _**Apri-Chan**_ - I hope you survived the wait... and that it was worth the wait XD _**W.**_ - I do believe that you nailed the characters with your description. Wufei is bolder then one might think and Duo is not oblivious :) There will be more of that. _**killing u with umbrellas**_ - great :D Sure will... uhm, well I'll try to get the next chapter up soon. _**Jazzy**_ - The whole day? I've written that much? Huh, maybe I have lol. But seriously, I'm really glad that you like my stories _**anf600**_ - Yay! Sweet was just what I was going for, perfect :) There will be a lot more sweetness coming along soon enough._**hugglesbunny**_ - I'm really glad to hear that. I'm trying to make them as real as I can. Unfortunately I'm getting my inspiration from people I've meet. There will be a new story posted today or tomorrow. A halloween one! It's going to be so much fun, even if it's really hard to be scary. We'll see how it goes. _**Annoying Little Twit**_ - Thank you :) And I do believe you're right, Duo sure wasn't talking about the temperature :D _**Cinnamon Selkie**_ - Hm, well I have no plans on writing Duo's POV but nag me every now and then and I just might get my ass moving and make one for you. As you said, Duo is a sweetheart under the tough image and it would be kind of fun to explore that... hmmm. _**P. Cythera**_ - He is, isn't he? Don't you just want to cuddle him? ... or maybe one shouldn't considering the chance of pissing him off. _**Turtle Kid the Woolgatherer**_ - *grin* Glad you liked it and I'm pleased that Duo's not so subtle remark made your day. _**Kaeru Shisho**_ - Duo did all the work in the last chapter so it was really time for Wufei to make a move :) How did you think he handled it? _**snowdragonct**_ - Wufei would most definitely want to see Duo "au naturale" XD or anyway he can actually. That part will come soon enough, they are teenage boys after all :D _**kidishcaresh**_ - Hehe, In my mind, Duo spend most of his time at the carnival fretting and trying to think of things to do that would make Wufei happy XD


	7. Chapter 7

Um… I'm back. Sorry it took me forever to write this. I have no excuse except loss of inspiration.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Chapter 7

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

They had not spoken about what had happened, but several meaningful looks had been exchanged. Hand holding could only mean so much and Wufei didn't want to assume anything if it turned out to be less than what he was hoping for.

How would he know what Duo wanted? He barely knew what he wanted.

Wufei glanced over at his friend as they left the classroom together the next day.

"Let's get out of here," Duo said, rubbing the fingers on his right hand together, in a motion that indicated a lack of nicotine in the blood stream.

Wufei followed his friend in silence down the corridor and onto the school yard. The sun was shining and there was hardly a cloud in the sky:a perfect day to skip a class or two. Wufei kind of wished that Duo would lead him from the school yard and away, just so they could do something fun, totally irresponsible, and enjoy each other's company. Instead, Duo led him behind the bike shed but didn't fish out his cigarettes as he usually did. Then, he paced restlessly for a moment before turning towards him just to stare at him. Wufei didn't know what was going on but it made him nervous.

Duo took a step closer to him; then another, and another while Wufei stood frozen, watching him approach.

Slowly, Duo reached out and placed one hand on his shoulder while the other sneaked around to land on his waist. Wufei could feel his breathing speed up, his pulse thumping in his ears. His gaze had gotten stuck somewhere on the middle of Duo's chest, and he was unable to lift them. They were standing so close; he wanted to lean forward until they were pressed together. He wanted to kiss him, but he was too insecure, too nervous to do anything at all. Instead, he waited to see what Duo would do so that he could follow his lead.

Nothing happened.

Wufei glanced up and their eyes met. And then, suddenly, Wufei realized something: Duo was just as out of his depth as he was. Duo was nervous too and he didn't know what to do either.

This was something they had to do together.

Slowly he raised a far too sweaty hand up to place on the back of Duo's neck. Feeling like he was about to jump off a cliff or do something equally nerve-wracking, Wufei put a bit of pressure on his hand.

Duo bent down.

There was a slight hesitation and then their lips were touching. It was a soft kiss, lips that barely brushed together. It wasn't much, but it made all the difference.

Wufei leaned in just a little bit more, putting more pressure on Duo's neck with his hand. It was nice, as well as nerve-wracking, and when it ended, they wrapped their arms around each other.

"Thank god," Duo whispered brokenly into his hair, hugging him so tightly, it felt like he couldn't breathe; only he didn't mind because he was pretty sure that the grip he had around Duo made it equally hard for the other boy to breathe.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

What followed were the happiest times Wufei had ever had in his sixteen-year-old life.

They snuck looks at each other when no one was looking; let their hands brush whenever they had the chance; and smiled so much that they could tell people were starting to wonder. Wufei didn't care; he was too deliriously happy to care.

He had a boyfriend.

He had someone who he could share _everything_ with. Someone he could touch and hold, someone who liked him back. It was liberating to have this one person he could slowly open up to and tell everything to: about all the bullying, about his parents' divorce, his father's silent wish for him to be something he wasn't, about the realization that he was attracted to other boys.

Duo was slowly doing the same, telling him about how it had been to be shuffled around between different foster parents who either didn't want him or didn't understand him, of wanting to live with his uncle, who — because of mistakes the man had made in his youth —wasn't allowed to take him in.

Step by step they healed, with each other for support.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Wufei had never really questioned or even thought about why Duo never invited him over to his house. They always went to Wufei's, or somewhere else, so it was something of a shock when Duo one day suddenly suggested that they go to his house.

They started walking in the opposite direction of Wufei's home. He gave Duo a fond look as they strolled side by side along the street. The other boy really had gone out of his way to keep Wufei company on his walks home, because Duo really lived quite far away from him. As time passed, Wufei nervously noted that Duo was becoming more and more tense the further they got. He didn't know what they were going to encounter and Duo wasn't saying anything. All he knew about Duo's foster parents was that they were into New Age and Duo wasn't comfortable around them.

He was expecting the worst by the time they arrived at the small villa surrounded by fruit trees and neat flowerbeds. It looked idyllic and welcoming: not really the picture Wufei had painted in his mind. They had barely gotten through the door when Duo pulled him down a corridor. Wufei got a glimpse of a surprised, redheaded woman with large golden earrings, standing in the doorway, as they hurried by her.

Duo ushered them into his bedroom and closed the door, placing a chair under the door handle.

Wufei gave the chair a look. Just what was Duo expecting: an attacking army?

Duo shrugged tensely. "The lock is broken and they're nosy."

"Right," Wufei said, turning his head to take a look around. The room was the most impersonal Wufei had ever seen. There was a bed with a light blue cover standing in a corner, a rug of the same color, an empty desk, a chair and a wardrobe. There were a couple of empty frames leaning against the desk but none on the yellow walls that were so pale they almost seemed white. A cigarette package laid on the bed but other than that, there was nothing that indicated anyone lived there. Even the waste basket seemed empty.

It was obvious that Duo had not tried to make himself feel at home there. Wufei had seen hotel rooms with more personality.

"Yeah, this is it," Duo said, dropping his worn backpack down by the door. "I'm never here so..." He shrugged. "I like your room better."

Wufei smiled. "Even with my brothers there?" he asked as he walked over to sit down on the bed, only to move aside when he noticed he was sitting on something lumpy.

"Sure," Duo replied, shrugging his leather jacket off and dropping it down on the empty desk. "Wouldn't hurt if they got lost every now and then, but it's still better than this place."

Wufei fumbled under the duvet, trying to find what he'd landed on. His fingers found something soft and he pulled out a brown stuffed animal, a dog by the looks of it. It had lost one eye and the fur was so worn down in some places, there was barely any left. It looked beyond loved.

"Who's this?" he asked, holding up the dog.

Duo actually blushed when he saw it. "It's nothing, just some junk," he mumbled as he walked over.

"Doesn't look like junk to me," Wufei replied, stroking a worn ear.

Duo snorted. "My dad gave it to me before he ditched us," he explained as he carelessly dropped himself down on his side, next to Wufei, resting his head in his hand. "He said that he was going to come back but didn't. Go figure." He said it in a carefree tone, like he couldn't care less, but the fact that the dog was still in his bed spoke a different tale.

"You don't know where he is?" Wufei asked softly as he handed the toy over.

"Nope, he got on a boat and high-tailed it out of there." Duo dropped the dog on the floor without looking at it. "I wish I could have done the same."

Wufei didn't say anything. He just moved a little closer, waiting to hear what Duo wanted to say.

Duo reached out and picked up his cigarette package. He shook it slightly as if to check if there was anything in it. "Mom is locked up in the nut house. Last time I visited, she cursed me out, thinking I was my dad. The time before that, she didn't even remember she had a kid."

Wufei didn't know what to say and he had a feeling Duo would not appreciate any sympathy.

Duo gave him a twisted smile. "Well that was freaking depressing and really not what I had in mind for today," Duo said before raising himself up to kiss him.

Wufei, caught unprepared, hardly knew what to do but he soon found himself pushed down on his back with Duo lodged firmly between his legs.

They never had any time to really explore this new thing between them. Making out at school was a really bad idea and doing it, where Wufei's brothers could barge in at any time, wasn't much better. They stole a few kisses behind the bike shed and in their meadow in the forest, but those were nothing like this. This was something completely different. He could feel Duo's firm body pressing him down into the mattress.

Kissing like this made his brain take a step back for a break, leaving his cock to do the thinking instead. The kisses were open-mouthed and wet and so goddamn hot. He was beyond turned on, wanting nothing but to get more of it, more of Duo, more of this closeness. He wanted them to get out of those clothes; he wanted them to do all the things he had only ever imagined.

There was a knock on the door. "Duo? Would you and your friend like something to eat?" a female voice asked softly.

"No," Duo barked sharply, glaring at the closed door.

Wufei blinked in surprise as Duo got off of him.

"They're so nosy," Duo spat, hands fumbling with the cigarette package. The earlier, so relaxed, body was now stiff as a bow string, waiting to go off. Eyes were cold and distant as restless fingers opened and closed the paper package over and over again. "This was a bad idea. Let's go to your house instead, we can lock your brothers out" Duo said finally, getting to his feet in a sharp, angry move, marching over to the desk to shrug on his jacket.

Feeling that Duo was overreacting but not ready to voice it, Wufei followed his boyfriend out.

They once again stormed passed the redhead who wordlessly watched them go, her eyes sad and helpless. Wufei gave her slumping shape one last look before the door closed behind them.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

"How nice to see you again, Duo." Wufei's mother was beaming at them as they came through the door. "What are you up to?"

"Homework," Duo mumbled with his eyes on the floor, fingers awkwardly hooked around the strap of his backpack. Wufei almost snorted. Homework. Yeah, right.

His mother smiled. "Well then, I'll just knock before I enter then."

"Mom!" Wufei hissed in horrified embarrassment.

His mother just snickered and Wufei pushed Duo out of the kitchen with one last glare in her direction. He couldn't _believe_ she just said that.

"Your mom is the coolest," Duo grinned as they stepped into the bedroom. Wufei, who thought his mother was trying to embarrass him on purpose, didn't pay the other boy any mind as he scanned the room. They were the only ones there and he aimed to keep it that way.

Following Duo's example, he pulled his desk chair over to the door and secured it under the handle. When he was done, he turned back to his boyfriend, his pulse racing so quickly, he could feel the blood thumping in his ears. They had been interrupted earlier, but Wufei was determined to pick up where they left off. Duo was sitting on the edge of his bed, fingers restlessly playing with his bedcover. Every step Wufei took towards him felt like a struggle. His thoughts were running wild, fantasies and desires dancing around his head, devising a way to navigate this new and terrifying territory.

Then he was standing in front of Duo who reached out a hand to slowly slide around his waist. Putting a knee up against the bed, Wufei followed his boyfriend down on it as the other boy leaned back. Their lips met urgently, their hands wandered desperately across each other's bodies. Then Duo was tipping him over backwards and Wufei happily allowed him to lay halfway across his body.

His glasses were fogging up and he impatiently took them off, dropping them somewhere on the floor to the side of the bed. His hands were in Duo's hair, holding the other boy trapped against him, not that he seemed to be going anywhere.

The sound of his siblings running past the door in the hallway, and his sister screaming angrily about unfairness, didn't bother them as they explored each other.

Duo's fingers played with the edge of his shirt before carefully crawling under it to touch the skin on his back. The simple touch became the focus of his world and, as Duo's fingertips awkwardly started searching their way down, Wufei felt like he was losing his mind.

There was a sudden, loud thump as something hit the other side of the wall, followed by excited cries of 'Give it here!' startling them both. Eyes froze wide open in surprise. Then, with quiet snickers, they laughed at themselves before their lips met again.

Duo tasted like tobacco, which wasn't a very nice flavour but Wufei couldn't find the will to care. Especially since those hands had then found their way under the edge of his pants, making Wufei twitch and hump urgently against Duo's leg. Their quick breaths mixed together in the short distance between them and their kisses paused, giving way for the terrifying next step.

Wufei had never been so nervous in his life as their hesitating hands wandered over each other. With fingers that felt unreal to him, he found the button of Duo's jeans. The other boy shivered and clumsy hands gripped his ass tightly.

The jeans were worn and opened easily. He felt along the cotton underwear he found there. Dipping a finger under the edge, he started pulling it down. Duo started breathing irregularly, if slightly desperately, against his shoulder, loose strands from his long braid tickling against his neck.

Then his hand found it. It was hard and soft in his hand, and he made Duo gasp and whimper with need against him. Then there were hands at the edge of his pants. Wufei hurriedly lifted himself up and, with one hand, pushed them down to his thighs, giving his boyfriend more to explore. Duo's big, warm hands felt too good. He knew he wasn't going to last long as their hips jerked against each other.

Duo shoved his face against his shoulder, muffling a desperate cry as Wufei's fingers were suddenly covered in sticky, slimy cum. It shouldn't have been as sexy as it was, but Wufei sucked in air through his nose, his lips closed tightly as his whole body erupted in pleasure centered in the circle of Duo's hand.

Breathing heavily, he wrapped his arms around his boyfriend who shakily did the same. He didn't even want to think about how he was going to get the ruined beddings past his mother. But right at that moment, it didn't matter.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

A/N Well as I said, sorry for taking so long but the next chapter should be posted next Friday. Please leave me a word before you go back into the magical world of fanfiction, It will make we very happy and happy writers write faster ;D

_**jaymeaaron**_– It's not abandoned… just slightly forgotten. I'm going to try to get myself going and finish this as soon as I can. But don't worry, I never abandon any of my stories. _**Toki**__**Mirage**_ – Whops, sorry frustrating you, I'll try to make it up to you. Maybe the sex did it? If not I'll make sure to put more cuteness in later on. _**Chicookie**_ – Poor boys just can't get away from those siblings but they do the best they can. I'm glad you like the story and all the fluffy sweet stuff :D _**Vash**__**The**__**Humanoid**__**Sunshower**_ – Yes, I'm writing more for this… slowly. Lost my inspiration but now I'm back :D _**Kanberry**_ – Heheh, you can't have teenagers without teenage angst, they go hand in hand ;) But I know what you mean and hope the fluff makes up for it. _**Kaliko**__**the**__**Cat**_ – Thank you :D I'm happy to say that the interesting parts have barely gotten started. _**Night**_ – Awww, no cookie for me :( I think this update took not only one life time but two. _**Cat**_ – Thank you! It took mme a year, but here is the update. _**MeLaiya**_ – I sure didn't hurry up and write the next chapter but it's finally here… I just hope that you are still here XD _**EbonyOsmosis**_ – There will be more of Duo beating up people and sweet couple things soon enough, don't you worry ;) _**Cinnamon**__**Selkie**_ – I'll think about the whole Duo POV thing. I might have some ideas on how to do it but I'm not making any promises. But on the other hand, I should do it just because you were the one who asked ;) _**Annoying**__**Little**__**Twit**_ – Damn, have to get around to fixing that. For some reason ffnet decided to eat the guy's name. I have no idea why. Thanks for telling me. _**Jazzy**_ – Oh I already responded to this right? Oh well, it's still nice to see your review. _**o.o**_ – Glad you like it and sorry to keep you waiting X( _**Turtle**__**Kid**__**the**__**Woolgatherer**_ - LOL! I would laugh so hard if I manage to get you to hold hands with someone. That's what I would call brain washing. The image makes me very happy. _**snowdragonct**_- Thank you :D We'll be getting more insight in the slightly more serious subjects soon enough but for now lets drown in fluff. _**kidishcaresh**_ - They are, aren't they. :) And the sweetness just goes on and on _**P.**__**Cythera**_ - No you really should not piss this Duo off, you never know what might happen. And with this chapter we moved on from hand holding to dick holding. Don't you just love teenagers? _**anf600Toni**_ - There will be more. Lots of more "connecting" coming along _**philomina**_ Yay! Hand holding cuteness for the win ;) I'm glad you are enjoying yourself.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Wufei admitted, if only to himself, that he was terrified of these outings.

His father had for some reason decided they were all going to have a happy family gathering at the circus. Maybe he wanted to make up for ignoring them these past few weeks or maybe he genuinely wanted to see them. The reason didn't matter because it was going to be unpleasant either way.

Wufei would have faked illness, but he didn't dare leave his siblings alone with Tyler. At least as long as he was there, his so-called "step-brother" would have someone to subject his aggression and boredom to.

He would never want any of the things that had been done to him to be done to his brothers as well. He couldn't even bare thinking about it because it made his chest tight and his heart hurt.

So far, the kids were enjoying the festivities. They watched everything with wide eyes and Wufei found himself not enjoying himself but enjoying their happiness. As much as he could, anyway, with Tyler's presence looming over him.

Luckily, Tyler had only managed to corner him once. His side hurt like hell from where he had been hit, but he had long ago mastered the ability to steel his face so no one would know he was in pain. He wished Duo was there, not only because he would beat Tyler's face in for hurting him, but because he was on his side. Duo knew what was going on. He knew _everything_. He didn't have to hide anything from him. He could just be himself and not have to think about what he did or said. Everything would have been so much better if only Duo had been there to stroll along his side and make sarcastic remarks about people's sense of dress and stupidity.

But Duo wasn't there and wouldn't be with him for another two days. His father had decided that they were going to the circus and then home for dinner. That was the plan and Wufei wished he had some kind of excuse, so that he wouldn't have to spend the night. But he had none, something he tried not to think about as they walked around the circus area.

The girls had been left at home, much to their disappointment, but that was the deal his parents had made. The boys went on one weekend; the girls on the other.

It was probably his father's idea since he not only had five biological children, but his new wife had three children of her own. Now, all of a sudden, they had a newborn too. He could only assume that it was because there would be too many children at one time.

If he had the choice, Wufei would have stayed at home. He would have been able to play with his sisters; he could have had his boyfriend over and figured out more ways to be intimate with him. Instead, he was stuck here.

Walking next to him, his father was asking him about school and how he had done on his tests and other pointless things. Wufei had a hard time remembering how he had done on a test he had taken weeks ago. So many other, more earth shattering things had happened in his life. He had a boyfriend now. A friend. He no longer spent most of his time trying to hide from his bullies. He was happy.

He wondered if his father suspected that he was gay. He wondered how he would react when he found out.

His father then seemed to have run out of things to ask him and turned his attention to Tyler to talk about some sport. Wufei didn't care. Instead, he let himself be led into the tent by his excited brothers and they found seats together.

Jian was still scared of clowns, so they took seats pretty high up. Wufei pulled him into his lap and wrapped his arms around him. Jian relaxed, clutching a plastic shark he had won from a lottery outside.

His brothers were talking nonstop, pointing things out to him and telling him things he already knew. Wufei just smiled and nodded, letting their happiness calm him. He didn't look up as his father walked up behind them to step over the bench and sit down next to him. A second later, he muffled a pained grunt when Tyler rammed his knee into his back as he passed behind him and took a seat on his father's other side. Shit, that hurt.

His father didn't notice a thing and if he had, he would probably have written it off as roughhousing; just another part of being male.

The show started, but Wufei wasn't really paying attention. He absently rubbed his hands on his aching ribs, watching half-heartedly as jugglers in skin-tight cat suits bounced around on the stage, and silently wondering what Duo would have thought about them. He would have probably made fun of them; complained that it was costumes like that that gave gay men a bad reputation or something. He once again wished Duo was there next to him so he wouldn't have felt so isolated and alone. He would have made him feel like he belonged, unlike the man next to him.

Rearranging his arms around his laughing brother, he glanced up at the man next to him. His father had grown a moustache, and Wufei tried to remember when he had last seen his father and if he had had it back then. He couldn't remember and, in a way, he didn't care anymore. His father had a new life and it didn't feel like he had any part in it. He might as well have been sitting next to a stranger.

All in all, Wufei decided, the circus wasn't something he enjoyed. It smelled bad and he had seen better on TV. Leaning his chin against Jian's soft hair, Wufei hoped that the rest of the night wasn't going to get much worse.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-::-:-:-

His father's wife, Alice, had been at home with the baby and she greeted them happily when they got back. Wufei was the last through the door and as he passed her she asked him if he had a good time. Wufei answered her vaguely and rather curtly as he hung up his jacket. He didn't know how to act around the woman who had taken their father away from them. She seemed like a nice woman, a bit too nice even.

Wufei didn't want to like her, but he didn't want to be rude either. He wanted nothing to do with her; he wanted her to leave him alone, to stop trying so hard to be nice to him. It was just awkward and it made Wufei want to be anywhere else. Luckily, she didn't try to talk to him more than that and they all went into the kitchen to have dinner.

It was a kitchen that freaked Wufei out. It was far too clean and orderly. There were porcelain jars with words like 'sugar' and 'flour' labelled on them, sitting in rows on the counter. The walls were filled with framed pictures of chickens and fruit baskets. It looked like something out of a magazine. But houses in magazines weren't for living in; they weren't real. Nothing felt real in this place. There were no dishes in the sink, no piles of mail on the table, no dirt on the cupboard doors and no drawings on the refrigerator. It was all spotless and fake. Wufei tried to ignore everything and eat his food. Tyler had luckily ended up sitting far away on the other side of the kitchen table and couldn't reach him; otherwise he would have been in trouble. So when they ate, he was safe.

Of course it didn't last long. When everyone else left the table, Wufei lingered behind to help clean up. Not to be nice, but because he needed to get away from Tyler a little while longer. His need to prepare for the worst at any given moment was giving him a headache.

"Oh, you don't need to do that," Alice protested brightly, reminding Wufei once again of a sixties housewife who was either faking happiness very well or had swallowed a few pills. She was just too perfect to be real.

"It's all right," he mumbled, bending down to fill the dishwasher.

In the corner of his eye, he could see her lips tightening, trying to think of something to say to her husband's oldest son who she had barely met more than a handful of times before. If Wufei was a better person, he would have tried to help her out; maybe start a conversation about one of the ridiculous animal-shaped hooks she had hanging over the kitchen counter. But he wasn't. He was a teenage boy who wanted to be anywhere but there and she was the woman who had taken his father away from him. The heavy silence continued.

Feeling the tension in the awkward moment build up, he stayed until the dishwasher was filled and the table cleaned, then turned to walk out of the kitchen.

"Thank you Wufei. That was really nice of you," she smiled gently down at him, hands smoothing down the front of her already perfectly pressed skirt.

Wufei wanted to snap out that it had nothing to do with her, but everything to do with her jackass of a son who was likely going to ambush him as soon as he left the kitchen. Instead, he merely nodded.

"I just—" she started, pushing one of her perfect blond curls behind her ear. "I just hope you'll feel welcome here, and that this could be your home away from home."

Wufei almost laughed. His home away from home? Never. Not with her and her children there. Not when he had to watch every move he made and every word he said. No, this would never be home.

Wufei just nodded again, brightening her already disgustingly perfect smile even more.

"Good. Tell the rest that we'll have dessert in half an hour or so."

"Okay," he said, turning away. He was going to do no such thing. The last thing he wanted to do was go looking for trouble.

He walked out and found Jian aimlessly walking around the living room—if you could even call it a living room when you couldn't actually live in it. There was a large piano, black and intimidating, to his right. He wondered if it had been strategically placed there ostentatiously since it would be the first thing a person would see when they walk in. Several large candlesticks with elegant arms stood on top of it, holding varying kinds of candles from long and slim, to big globes. It looked like something belonging to a stage in front of hundreds of watchers instead of in this scarily neat living room.

It was as if nothing in this room was meant to be used. The couch looked brand new. There was no way anyone could have ever sat on it while eating popcorn or ice cream. The numerous pillows on it were perfectly orderly and all matched in colour. The thick rug on the floor was so neat, it looked like someone had brushed the whole thing down, one thread at a time. The bookshelves along the far wall were filled with books that didn't look worn. There were photographs of Tyler and his brothers who even managed to look like nice, young gentlemen and an endless line of porcelain figurines. The whole thing made Wufei, who had never vandalized anything in his life, want to take a spray can and just spray-paint it all over, just to get rid of the perfection. It wasn't real; none of this was real.

In the corner of his eye, he saw Jian pick up something from the living room table, but he didn't pay him any mind. He was too busy staring in disbelief as one of the photos on the bookshelf caught his attention. In it, his father was standing proudly between Tyler and one of his brothers. The man had his arms around both boys' shoulders. It seemed to have been taken at some kind of sporting event because everyone was wearing the same yellow shirt. Resentment bubbled up in Wufei's stomach. It seemed like his father had gotten just what he had always wanted: big, strong sons who liked to play rough and enjoyed sports mindlessly, and not the weak, bookworm who ducked whenever a ball came at him. He stared hard at the image, wanting it to catch fire from the heat of his anger.

"What the fuck!" Wufei spun around at the sound of Tyler's angry shout, heart racing and muscles ready to run.

"Hands off, you little shit," Tyler hissed, grabbing a hold of Jian's ear and ripping whatever it was he had been holding out of his hands and away from him.

Jian's scream of pain made something dark lash out inside of Wufei. Tyler was lifting a hand to strike, his cold eyes staring down at the boy. Before he had time to think, Wufei had grabbed a hold of one of the tall candlesticks that stood proudly on top of the piano. His fingers closed tightly around the cold metal, the white globe candle on top tumbling off as he jerked it down. He lunged forward and swung it, hitting Tyler straight in the face, with the force of the hit ricocheting up his arm.

With a cry of pain, his so-called foster brother stumbled back, hands over his face, blood running down between his fingers.

Wufei felt no sympathy and didn't spare him much attention as he dropped the candlestick and darted towards his brother. Jian was crying almost hysterically, his small arms tight around Wufei's neck as he was snatched off his feet and hurried away from Tyler, who was cursing and shouting about just how much Wufei was going to pay for what he had done.

"What is going on here?" Wufei's father called out, as he came hurrying through the doorway.

"Wufei hit me with the candlestick!" Tyler shouted, pointing at Wufei who had Jian wrapped around him like a monkey.

From the shocked gasp from Alice, who was standing behind her husband, to the angry look on his father's face, Wufei knew that this was not going to end well for him.

"He was hurting Jian," he defended.

"He was breaking my phone," Tyler shot back, blood running down between his fingers.

"I wasn't! I was just looking!" Jian protested between his hysterical sobs.

"He was _looking_ at what was inside my phone by picking it apart," Tyler cut in, authoritatively.

"He dragged him by his ear," Wufei hissed angrily, hiding his shaking hands by gripping Jian tighter.

"You have to be more careful, darling," Tyler's mother's gentle voice interrupted. She hurried over to inspect the cut on his temple, pressing a cloth against it to stop the blood flow. "He was just curious and you can't treat him the way you treat your brothers. He's too young."

His father turned towards his sons. "Jian, come here. Let me see."

The boy reluctantly let go of Wufei as his brother put him back down on his feet. He walked over to his father who inspected his red ear. "You're fine. Just be more careful with other people's things."

"I wasn't touching it!"

His father sighed. "Right, just— just go outside and play. We'll talk about this later."

"But—"

"Now, Jian," the man bit off sharply.

Angry tears fell from the boy's eyes as he turned and ran out.

The older man rubbed his hands over his face. Then, with a heavy sigh, the man turned to Tyler. "I know you're not used to kids so young, but you need to be a bit more… careful."

His father was looking over at his wife while he spoke, as if he wasn't comfortable disciplining her children. Then, when Alice nodded her approval, he turned to Wufei, his face tightening, becoming cold and angry. "Well, Wufei?"

Wufei glanced over at Tyler, who was getting fussed over by his mother. The other boy had a pained, almost scared expression on his face that Wufei knew successfully fooled both their parents.

Wufei felt completely powerless. There was nothing he could do. He couldn't win. They would never believe him; no one ever did. But, if befriending Duo had taught him anything, it was to stand up for himself and to always go down fighting.

He straightened his back and looked his father right in the eye. "He was hurting Jian and I made him stop."

For a second, his father looked beyond shocked, as if he had never expected him to challenge his authority. "Then you should have told him to stop. You do not go around _hitting_ people with _candlesticks_!" the man shouted angrily.

Momentarily, Wufei could only stare at his father, trying to think of a way to tell him that he was being a naïve fool. Why couldn't he understand that anything Wufei might have said would not have made any difference to someone like Tyler? Bullies didn't care. They only cared for themselves and they would do or say anything to have their way.

"He wouldn't have listened," was all he said, as he crossed his arms over his chest, as if to protect his rapidly beating heart.

His father's angry stare didn't waver. "What you did was totally irresponsible, not to mention very dangerous and I want you to apologize _right now_."

Wufei's mouth dropped open.

His father's eyes were hard as steel as they stared him down. "Right now, Wufei, or you are going straight home to your mother."

"Tyler didn't mean to hurt him, did you?" Alice questioned her son, obviously trying to mediate between them.

Tyler shook his head with a look of regret. "No, I just wanted him to stop. I didn't mean to be so rough with him." He had the perfect look of regret on his face. "I'm really sorry."

Both parents looked back at Wufei. The look in their eyes made him feel sick. They believed every word; they embraced it because it was what they wanted to believe. They didn't want to know the truth because it was ugly and didn't fit into their nice little world that they were building up around themselves.

Wufei looked over at Tyler and saw the satisfaction in his eyes. The bastard knew he had won.

Wufei looked back at his waiting father. He had never considered himself to be a prideful person, but as he stood there, he felt that he did have some pride; pride and a sense of justice that would not allow him to sink so low.

He saw how everyone was looking at him, waiting for him to obey, to apologize. He met his father's eyes again. "Never."

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

They were dropped off in front of their house.

Their father had tried to comfort Jian, but had clearly been unsuccessful as the boy looked far from comforted. He had been glued to Wufei's side the whole way back, like he was the only thing real in the world. The whole thing seemed to have scared the little boy half to death and Wufei didn't blame him because, if he felt anything like the sick feeling Wufei had in his stomach, he would have glued himself to someone he trusted too.

Wufei and his father hadn't said a word to each other, much less looked at each other. There was a strained silence between them. Neither was going to back down, so the tension remained.

When they arrived, the first and only thing his father told him was to go to his room; an order Wufei had no problem following. He didn't want to spend another second in that man's presence.

He had barely gotten up the stairs before he heard his parents starting to argue. His mother was cursing his father out, who held nothing back in retaliation. It wasn't long before old injustices were dredged up, shortcomings pointed out until the argument was no longer about what had happened.

The girls were quiet as they disappeared into their room, leaving the toys they had been playing with in the hallway. Wufei watched them go, wishing that there was something he could do to distract them from the fighting downstairs. At least, they hadn't been there with them, so they were spared the scene in the living room. He just hoped that Tyler wouldn't hurt the girls when it was their turn to go over to their father's place.

With a sigh, Wufei went to his room. He was exhausted and just wanted to sleep. Dropping his backpack on the floor, he stumbled over to his bed and more or less collapsed on it.

Jian was crying silently on his bed, with Chuanli looking lost and helpless from his spot on the upper bunk bed.

Wufei bit back a groan. Sometimes, being the oldest was just too much. He wanted to be just a kid too, and be comforted and assured that everything was going to be all right. But, that wasn't going to happen. Wufei dragged himself out of bed and walked over to Jian's curled up shape.

"Are you okay?" he stroked his brothers back in comfort, as he sat down on the edge of the bed. "Does your ear hurt?"

Jian sniffed into his pillow, turning his head towards him. His eyes were red and wet. "A little."

Wufei reached out and carefully stroked the still slightly swollen ear. "It'll be okay," he promised.

"I was just looking at it," the boy said, looking up with eyes that begged for someone to believe him.

"I know," Wufei whispered, lying down to gather Jian in his arms and holding him tightly as the boy cried silently. Small hands gripped his t-shirt and Wufei wished he had some kind of magical solution to everything so he could be happy again. The bed creaked as Chuanli climbed down the ladder and joined them on the bed.

"My stomach hurts when they scream," Chuanli whispered like it was a horrible secret.

Wufei swallowed thickly. "Mine too," he said, pulling Jian's soft, superhero blanket over the three of them. Together they curled up, listening to the distant sounds of yelling.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

A/N Well that was all for now, I'll try to update again as soon as I can so I don't leave you with this depressing image for too long.

Now please take a second to leave me a word about the chapter, it will make me very happy if you do. :)

_**Annoying Little Twit**_ – Glad you thought it was worth the wait, I'll try not to keep you waiting that long again :) _**nightcrawls**_ – Thank you! I hope you liked the new chapter :) _**hugglesbunny**_ – hehe glad you enjoyed the awkward teenage fumbling because I sure had fun writing it. There will be more of Duo's background in the next chapter, I promise. _**anonymous reviewer**_ - I sure did :D _**simys**_ – I'll try to keep the chapters coming regularly but sooner or later I'll work my way through this story. _**killing u with umbrellas**_ – Glad to hear it! :) _**LovelyRose5001**_ – Thank you :) More cure relationship situations coming up. _**O.O**_ – LOL! No way, I might drop off the radar while I reload but I will never be gone. I'm too stuck on this paring and this fandom to leave it. Well, maybe in twenty years or so, then I might consider retiring then. But until then I will be back with more sickeningly sweet stories. _**One Fujoshi Otaku Among Many**_ – I'll change the rating right away. To be honest I never remember the rating thing since I always found it a bit ridicules, but since people out there care I'm grateful that you reminded me so thank you. _**Amyeyl**_ – I'm happy you like it :) I'll try to get it updated again as soon as I can. _**HybridPlaything**_ – Glad to be back :) I'm happy you enjoyed the adorable clumsy virgins, will try to fit more of that in the story. Because really, what kind of teenage boy wouldn't try to have as much sex as they could? _**Turtle Kid the Woolgatherer**_- Well you sure didn't get your wish on the story not being depressing. Ooops, sorry about that. But I do promise that there will of course be a happy ending for everyone but the bad guys. _**snowdragonct**_ – LOL! I just had this picture of you putting a chair under the door to get away from the kids on the other side. Who knows, it might work. And not to give you any spoilers or so, but you're right, they are going to make each other happy in very different ways. _**Random GW fan 58**_- I so wish you left somewhere for me to reply because this is going to take so much room XD Now, to answer your question why I don't just write my AU's as original stories for a larger audience. To be honest there are several answers. The first and most obvious answer is that I love and identify myself a lot to these two characters. Another answer is that I love to play around with their original personality and only keep parts of them, only to let other parts pop up every now and then. To take Wufei in this story as an example. I asked myself, what would happen if you took the original Wufei and put him through low self-esteem, no family pride and bullying. And this is what I think would happen. As you might have noticed in this chapter, Wufei is starting to grow so balls and his sense of justice that drives him so much in the manga is starting to develop, just as Meilan's death did to him in the books. As you said, original Wufei doesn't take crap and when I'm done with him, neither will this Wufei. Another answer is that I've found that original stories, compared to fanfiction doesn't flow off my fingers as easily. I don't know why but I guess I don't feel as much pressure since fanfiction is just that –fanfiction. I do have a big original story that I'm working on so keep an eye out for it in the future ;) As for being "detailed about something at first but when something new came into play it got sort of neglected in favor of that new thing instead of interweaving smoothly." -was my way of trying to illustrate a teenage crush where it just feels like you are in a totally different world from the rest. I should probably have made that more clear and as you said, more detailed. I'll try to work on that. As for the twins I think you are the first one that spotted that XD I was going to work it into the chapter that they were staying at their neighbor's house as a way to introduce a new original character but I couldn't get it to fit so I just took it out and then totally forgot to mention where they had gone. A total fail on my part. And finally, thank you for your review, I'm really flattered that you took the time to write your thoughts down.


End file.
